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History · Cloverdale

Cloverdale dates to 1902, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1909 on and the census since 1910.

1902founded
0on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How Cloverdale began

When was Cloverdale founded?

1902

Cloverdale dates its founding to 1902 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 222 in 19102020 census: 170124 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1867.The full story ↓

What stands out about Cloverdale’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Cloverdale are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Cloverdale.Boom and bustPeaked at 304 in 1980; 170 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19093 editions of the USGS map, 1909 to 1973. Watch Cloverdale change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cloverdale’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cloverdale’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Cloverdale’s post office has been open since 1906. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Caskaid
1867–1879
Evansville
1879–1892
Drusilla
1892–1906
Cloverdale
1906–today
18601940today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

People over time

Cloverdale, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 304

Peaked at 304 in 1980; 170 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Cloverdale’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Cloverdale came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cloverdale.

Read it all →

Cloverdale was originally called Evansville, and under the latter name was platted in 1877 when the railroad was extended to that point. The present name most likely is derived from the Clover Leaf Railroad, which passed through a nearby junction. The village was incorporated as Cloverdale in 1902.

During the tornado outbreak of November 17th, 2013, an EF-2 tornado struck the southern end of Cloverdale before dissipating, where minor to moderate structural damage occurred, and many trees and power lines were downed. A church in town sustained extensive damage to its walls and roof, and a nearby home sustained collapse of a wall.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Cloverdale in 1880

Passages that mention Cloverdale, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Cloverdale is located at the junction of the Clover Leat and The Tangent (Findlay, Ft. Wayne & Western) railroads and was surveyed and platted by E. W Dimock, civil engineer, for the proprietors, W.H. Mozier, E. M. Mozier, Tunis Truax, Nora Truax, Austin Combs and Mary Combs, in 1892. The name of t…
History of Putnam County Ohio1880 · page 112Read the page →
Read the text

Cloverdale is located at the junction of the Clover Leat and The Tangent (Findlay, Ft. Wayne & Western) railroads and was surveyed and platted by E. W Dimock, civil engineer, for the proprietors, W.H. Mozier, E. M. Mozier, Tunis Truax, Nora Truax, Austin Combs and Mary Combs, in 1892. The name of the postoffice at that place is Drucilla.

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.

Timeline

Cloverdale, 1867 to 1980

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1867Post officeThe Caskaid post office opens
  3. 1879Post officeThe Caskaid post office closes
  4. 1879Post officeThe Evansville post office opens
  5. 1892Post officeThe Evansville post office closes
  6. 1892Post officeThe Drusilla post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1902
    FoundingCloverdale is established
  9. 1906Post officeThe Drusilla post office closes
  10. 1909On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 304
By decade

Cloverdale, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Cloverdale post office 458272015Cloverdale post office 45827Cloverdale commercial district2015Cloverdale commercial districtMap of Putnam County Ohio Highlighting Cloverdale Village2015Map of Putnam County Ohio Highlighting Cloverdale Vil…MapOHMap-doton-Cloverdale2004OHMap-doton-Cloverdale
On the map

Cloverdale on the map, 1909 to 1973

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cloverdale. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Cloverdale on the 1909 USGS mapCloverdale on the 1960 USGS mapCloverdale on the 1973 USGS map1909Continental sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Cloverdale.

Famous people

Famous people close to Cloverdale

Nobody well known was born in Cloverdale itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Neely EdwardsActor · b. 1883
L
Leslie PeltierAmerican astronomer · b. 1900
Edward Settle GodfreyUnited States Army officer and Indian Wars Meda… · b. 1843
Sabrina ScharfAmerican politician and actress · b. 1943
Bill LangeAmerican football offensive lineman · b. 1928
Clara Chipman NewtonAmerican artist · b. 1848

Questions about Cloverdale’s history

What year was Cloverdale founded?

In 1902, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Cloverdale’s post office opened in 1867, and the census of 1910 counted 222 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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 (4), 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.