The story
Read it all →How Clarksville came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Clarksville.
Clarksville was laid out in 1816. The village was named after Sarah Clark Hadley, the wife of an early settler.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · Clarksville
Clarksville dates to 1816, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1870.
1816founded
0on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Quick answers
How Clarksville began
When was Clarksville founded?
1816
Clarksville dates its founding to 1816 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1870.
First census: 389 in 18702020 census: 534210 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1819.The full story ↓
What stands out about Clarksville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19073 editions of the USGS map, 1907 to 1986. Watch Clarksville change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1816: 210 years of Clarksville.Old housesHalf of Clarksville’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Clarksville’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Clarksville’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Clarksville on the map, 1907 to 1986
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Clarksville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1907Blanchester sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Clarksville.
Timeline
Clarksville, 1816 to 1907
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1816FoundingClarksville is established
- 1819Post officeThe Clarksville post office opens
- 20th century
- 1907
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
From the old history books
What they wrote about Clarksville in 1915
Passages that mention Clarksville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Clinton County Ohio1915 · page 309Read the page →
Read the text
Clarksville is situated in the western part of Vernon township, on the Cincinnati & Muskingum Valley railroad. It was laid out April 27, 1816, by William Hadley, proprietor. The surveying was done by Peyton West. The town, as originally laid out, consisted of forty-four lots, of the usual size, four poles front and eight poles back.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Clarksville, decade by decade
Date unknown3 to date
Date?
Date?
Date?
2016
2015
2013
2013
2013
2012
2004Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewTown Hall
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Clarksville’s page.
Retake this view · +15People over time
Clarksville, census by census
Between 339 and 583 people in every census since 1870.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Clarksville’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Old burying grounds
Clarksville’s post office has been open since 1819.
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Clarksville
ClarksvilleClarksville Independent Order of Odd FellowsYeazel
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Clarksville’s history
What year was Clarksville founded?
In 1816, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Clarksville’s post office opened in 1819, and the census of 1870 counted 389 people here.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (9), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.