Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: FunksBrother · CC BY-SA 4.0More historic than 70% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1957 on, and the census since 1890.
The Coal Grove post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Coalgrove (1848), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
More historic than 70% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Coal Grove is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
Ohio towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Ohio town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Coal Grove’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1899Coal Grove-Carlyle Tile (COAF) - 001
1899Coal Grove-Carlyle Tile (COAF) - 002
1899Coal Grove-Carlyle Tile (COAF) - 003
1899Coal Grove-Carlyle Tile (COAF) - 004
1899Coal Grove-Carlyle Tile (COAF) - 005
1899Coal Grove-Carlyle Tile (COAF) - 006
1899Coal Grove-Carlyle Tile (COAF) - 007
1899Coal Grove-Carlyle Tile (COAF) - 008
1899Coal Grove-Carlyle Tile (COAF) - 009
1899Coal Grove-Carlyle Tile (COAF) - 010
1899Coal Grove-Carlyle Tile (COAF) - 011
1899Coal Grove-Carlyle Tile (COAF) - 012
1899Coal Grove-Carlyle Tile (COAF) - 013
1899Coal Grove-Carlyle Tile (COAF) - 014
1899Coal Grove-Carlyle Tile (COAF) - 015
1899Coal Grove-Carlyle Tile (COAF) - 016
1899Coal Grove-Carlyle Tile (COAF) - 017
1899Coal Grove-Carlyle Tile (COAF) - 018Peaked at 2,961 in 1960; 1,889 people lived here in 2020.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Coal Grove’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Coal Grove.
Coal Grove was once known as "Petersburg" or "Petersburgh." Its name has also been spelled "Coalgrove."
In June 2019 a large amount of sodium permanganate was dumped into a malfunctioned water pipe, turning the water light pink. According to officials, the water was safe to drink, but it was recommended not to wash clothes with it.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archiveCoal Grove-Carlyle Tile (COAF) - 001
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Coal Grove. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Coal Grove.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Coal Grove’s page.
Retake this view · +15Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Another post office, Coalgrove, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Coal Grove post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Coal Grove is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
31% of Coal Grove’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.2 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1953.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (18), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
