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B+History
History · Colebrook Township

Colebrook Township’s post office opened in 1827, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 70% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1990.

1827first post office
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Colebrook Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Colebrook Township began

When was Colebrook Township founded?

1827

The Colebrook Township post office opened in 1827, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Colebrook (1827) and Phelps (1836), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 747 in 19902020 census: 1,115199 years

How historic is Colebrook Township?

B+

More historic than 70% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Colebrook Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Colebrook Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Colebrook Township 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.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Colebrook Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1827, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194030.4% of homes (±9.7) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%ANational RegisterNo listings counted · typical OH town 2.9 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 70%
NewerOlder

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 Colebrook Township’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.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 →

What stands out about Colebrook Township’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19054 editions of the USGS map, 1905 to 1994. Watch Colebrook Township change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Colebrook Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsA post office since 1827: 199 years of Colebrook Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Colebrook Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewFreewill Baptist Church: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Colebrook Township on the map, 1905 to 1994

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

Colebrook Township on the 1905 USGS mapColebrook Township on the 1959 USGS mapColebrook Township on the 1970 USGS mapColebrook Township on the 1994 USGS map1905Andover 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 Colebrook Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Colebrook
1827–1957
Phelps
1836–1870
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Colebrook
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Colebrook Township
Colebrook SouthNorth Colebrook

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

The story so far

Colebrook Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Colebrook Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Colebrook Township is one of the twenty-seven townships of Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 1,115 people in the township.

Its first post office opened in 1827. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 994 to 1,115 (+12%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Colebrook Township, 1827 to 1957

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1827Post officeThe Colebrook post office opens
  3. 1836Post officeThe Phelps post office opens
  4. 1870Post officeThe Phelps post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1957Post officeThe Colebrook post office closes
By decade

Colebrook Township, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Freewill Baptist ChurchDate?Freewill Baptist Church
Today4 recent
Rest area along State Route 11 southbound, Colebrook Township, Ashtabula County, Ohio2020Rest area along State Route 11 southbound, Colebrook …Map of Ashtabula County Ohio Highlighting Colebrook Township2015Map of Ashtabula County Ohio Highlighting Colebrook T…MapColebrook government building new2014Colebrook government building newColebrook Town Hall2014Colebrook Town Hall
Then & 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.

Freewill Baptist Church
Retake this viewFreewill Baptist Church

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Colebrook Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Colebrook Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20020002020Peak: 1,115

Between 747 and 1,115 people in every census since 1990.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Colebrook Township

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

See all →
Adna Chaffee2nd Chief of Staff of the United States Army · b. 1842
Albion W. TourgéeAmerican civil rights activist and novelist · b. 1838
R
Russell AllenCyclist · b. 1913
T
Theodore NewcombAmerican social psychologist · b. 1903
Lewis Sperry ChaferAmerican theologian · b. 1871
Theron Moses RiceAmerican politician · b. 1829
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Greene Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOrwell TownshipIts storyBWayne TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNew Lyme Township2 historic placesA

Questions about Colebrook Township’s history

What year was Colebrook Township founded?

The Colebrook Township post office opened in 1827, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Colebrook Township rank for history?

Colebrook Township 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.

How old are the homes in Colebrook Township?

30% of Colebrook Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.7 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1977.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (4), the Library of Congress (1), 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.