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History · Cygnet

Cygnet’s post office opened in 1883, and 42% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1903 on, and the census since 1890.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
42%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cygnet’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cygnet began

When was Cygnet founded?

1883

The Cygnet post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 670 in 18902020 census: 543143 years
Founding year: the first Cygnet post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Cygnet’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 896 in 1900; 543 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19033 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1972. Watch Cygnet change.Old housesHalf of Cygnet’s homes were built before 1949.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cygnet’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCygnet-ohio-wood-county-oil-town: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Cygnet, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 896

Peaked at 896 in 1900; 543 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

On the map

Cygnet on the map, 1903 to 1972

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

Cygnet on the 1903 USGS mapCygnet on the 1960 USGS mapCygnet on the 1972 USGS map1903Findlay 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 Cygnet.

The story

How Cygnet came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cygnet.

Read it all →

Cygnet was originally called Pleasant View, and under the latter name was platted in 1883. A post office called Cygnet has been in operation since 1883. The village was incorporated in 1889. Much of the village was damaged by a fire on January 30, 1891. A nitroglycerin explosion occurred in Cygnet on September 7, 1897, killing at least 6 and causing significant damage to the village.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cygnet, 1883 to 1903

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Cygnet post office opens
  3. 1885In the archiveCygnet-ohio-wood-county-oil-town
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 896
  6. 1902In the archiveMcLaurin(1902) pic.180 Wells in Town Lots
  7. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Cygnet, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1900s2 items
Cygnet-ohio-wood-county-oil-town1885Cygnet-ohio-wood-county-oil-townMcLaurin(1902) pic.180 Wells in Town Lots1902McLaurin(1902) pic.180 Wells in Town Lots
1910s–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
Today3 recent
Map of Wood County Ohio Highlighting Cygnet Village2015Map of Wood County Ohio Highlighting Cygnet VillageMapCygnet, Ohio as viewed from Front Street -0268592010Cygnet, Ohio as viewed from Front Street -026859OHMap-doton-Cygnet2004OHMap-doton-Cygnet
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.

Cygnet-ohio-wood-county-oil-town
Retake this viewCygnet-ohio-wood-county-oil-town, 1885

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

Retake this view · +15

Questions about Cygnet’s history

What year was Cygnet founded?

The Cygnet post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (5), Wikipedia, 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.