Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 55% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1896 on and the census since 1870.
The Dalton post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 55% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dalton is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns. Its age 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 Dalton’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.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dalton’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dalton. 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 Dalton.
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.
1896Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From Wikipedia’s history of Dalton.
Dalton had its start in 1855 with the merging of three neighboring rival villages in Sugar Creek Township named Dover (est. 1817), Middletown (est. 1828), and Sharon (est. c. 1817–28).
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Dalton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The third settlement in the county was made by James Goudy, father of John Goudy, who later resided in Dalton, Sugarcreek township. He removed from Jefferson county, Ohio, and located two miles southwest of Dalton, in the autumn of 1809. James Goudy was in General St. Clair’s defeat, November 4, 1791, and was wounded in the thigh by a bullet, which for many years he carried in his body and which finally caused his death.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
James Goudy came to what is now Sugarcreek township as early as 1809, settling near Dalton. His brother John had effected a settlement in the neighborhood even prior to his settlement. The father. John Goudy, was in St. Clair’s defeat, November 4, 1791, where he was wounded in the right groin, which, but for the thickness of his clothing, would have caused death. After being shot he traveled eighteen miles, when he paused by the wayside and ate the flesh of a dead horse, which later he declared was the best meat he had ever eaten. He carried the bullet in his flesh many
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyGrew from 412 people in 1870 to 1,927 in 2020, 4 times over.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Dalton’s Wikipedia page.
Dalton’s post office has been open since 1822.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Dalton post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Dalton is more historic than 55% 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.
15% of Dalton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1990.
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 (6), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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