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A−History
History · Crestline

Crestline dates to 1851, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #341 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1860.

1851founded
4on the National Register
33%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Crestline’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Crestline began

When was Crestline founded?

1851

Crestline dates its founding to 1851 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 1,487 in 18602020 census: 4,525175 years

How historic is Crestline?

A−

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1851.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Crestline’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Crestline is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #341 of 993 in Ohio. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Crestline’s overall grade.
Founding era1851, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194033.2% of homes (±7.0) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register4 listings, 6 historic buildings, 13.4 per 10,000 residents · typical OH town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 78%
NewerOlder
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 66%

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 Crestline’s 13.4 sits above most of its state (77% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.0 points). Two sources give 1851.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Crestline’s past

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

A town in postcards18 old photos, postcards and papers, 1896–1952.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1887 to 1921, drew every building in Crestline.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Crestline, and 3 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19154 editions of the USGS map, 1915 to 1982. Watch Crestline change.
★ What stands out · By decade

Crestline, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1900s13 items
Bryan1896BryanWest Bucyrus Street, East from Pearl1905West Bucyrus Street, East from PearlPostcardWest Bucyrus Street, East from Pearl1905West Bucyrus Street, East from PearlCity Hall & Thoman Street, Looking North. Crestline, O1907City Hall & Thoman Street, Looking North. Crestline, OPostcardCity Hall & Thoman Street, Looking North. Crestline, O1907City Hall & Thoman Street, Looking North. Crestline, OPostcardCity Hall, Crestline, Ohio1908City Hall, Crestline, OhioPostcardCity Hall, Crestline, Ohio1908City Hall, Crestline, OhioPostcardFirst M.E. Church Crestline, O1908First M.E. Church Crestline, OPostcardFirst M.E. Church Crestline, O1908First M.E. Church Crestline, OPostcardSeltzer St. Looking North Crestline, O1908Seltzer St. Looking North Crestline, OPostcardSeltzer St. Looking North Crestline, O1908Seltzer St. Looking North Crestline, OPostcardSt. Joseph's Church Crestline, O1908St. Joseph's Church Crestline, OPostcardSt. Joseph's Church Crestline, O1908St. Joseph's Church Crestline, OPostcard
1910s2 items
Pearl Street1912Pearl StreetPostcardPearl Street1912Pearl StreetPostcard
1920s–1940snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1950s3 items
USA 050 Crestline 21952USA 050 Crestline 2USA 052 Crestline 41952USA 052 Crestline 4USA 054 Crestline 61952USA 054 Crestline 6
1960s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Every building

Crestline, building by building, 1887–1921

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Crestline fire insurance map, 1887, sheet 11887Sheet 1 of 5
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Crestline’s post office has been open since 1854. Another post office, Livingstone, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Livingstone
1851–1854
Crestline
1854–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Meadowood Estates Mobile Home ParkMobile Manor ParkPinecrest Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
School Number 3school
1cemetery inside Crestline
Saint Josephs

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

The story

How Crestline came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Crestline.

Read it all →

The Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad, or the "Bee Line" as it was known then, predated Crestline. Since there was no town between Shelby and Galion, it was decided that a station should be placed halfway for passenger convenience. The station was constructed where the line crossed the Leesville road.

Crestline was platted in 1852. It was once thought to be the highest point in Ohio and was named from its high elevation.

ChaptersEarly historyAbraham Lincoln's funeral train20th century21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Crestline, 1851 to 1964

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851
    FoundingCrestline is established
  3. 1851Post officeThe Livingstone post office opens
  4. 1854Post officeThe Livingstone post office closes
  5. 1854Post officeThe Crestline post office opens
  6. 1866Born hereMark Fenton is born here
  7. 1896In the archiveBryan
  8. 20th century
  9. 1905In the archiveWest Bucyrus Street, East from Pearl
  10. 1912In the archivePearl Street
  11. 1915On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1939Born hereGates Brown is born here
  13. 1952In the archiveUSA 050 Crestline 2
  14. 1964Born hereRobert Kurtzman is born here
  15. 1964Born hereMark Gottfried is born here
On the map

Crestline on the map, 1915 to 1982

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

Crestline on the 1915 USGS mapCrestline on the 1943 USGS mapCrestline on the 1960 USGS mapCrestline on the 1982 USGS map1915Crestline 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 Crestline.

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.

Bryan
Retake this viewBryan, 1896

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

4 historic places in Crestline

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Crestline City Hall
Heckler FarmhouseMethodist Episcopal ChurchHoffman HouseCrestline City Hall
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Romanesque Revival1
Italianate1
Heckler FarmhouseGreek Revival
Methodist Episcopal ChurchRomanesque Revival
Hoffman HouseItalianate
All 4 listings
Crestline City HallBuilding · listed 1974

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Crestline, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,500190019502000Peak: 5,947

Between 1,487 and 5,947 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

9 famous people were born in Crestline

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Mark FentonAmerican actor · b. 1866
Robert KurtzmanAmerican film director · b. 1964
Gates BrownAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1939
Mark GottfriedAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1964
Jack HarbaughAmerican football player and coach · b. 1939
Frank EmmerAmerican baseball player · b. 1896
Help out

Finish Crestline’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBryan: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Jackson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJefferson Township4 historic placesAGalion4 historic placesA

Questions about Crestline’s history

What year was Crestline founded?

In 1851, according to Wikidata. Crestline’s post office opened in 1851, and the census of 1860 counted 1,487 people here.

How does Crestline rank for history?

Crestline is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #341 of 993 in Ohio. 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.

What is on the National Register in Crestline?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Crestline City Hall (listed 1974, the first). 6 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Crestline?

33% of Crestline’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.0 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1960.

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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.