Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 1870.
The De Graff post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, De Graff is more historic than 54% 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 De Graff’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 De Graff’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of De Graff. 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 De Graff.
From Wikipedia’s history of De Graff.
De Graff was named in honor of a railroad official. Different sources format the community's name in several different ways: besides the official De Graff, the name has been rendered De Graft, DeGraff, Degraff, and Degraft.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention De Graff, cut from the printed page as they were published.
umbus for his machinery. In 1840, he built a grist-mill, which is still standing, now owned by Mathias Wolf. In 1850, he laid out the village of De Graff. The Bellefontaine and Indiana road, now “ Bee Line,” had been projected, and even staked out at this time, and | John Koke, who had purchased the land of Mr. Boggs, in company with Samuel Gilfillin,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Shawanoes or Shawnees, known among the settlers as Oldtown, was located on the bank of Stony Creek, about a mile and a half southwest of the present town of De Graff. A good many of its inhabitants, however, soon left after the accessions to the scttlemert began to be more numerous, so that there was barely a representation of the natives in 1812. But a
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.![ei]7 after Jlr. Cookston's marriag-e he located in Union Co., near where De Graff now stands, wliicli was at that tini(i covered with timber and underbrush. After making several changes, and renting some time, he bought 90 acres ol' land north of De Graff', where he lived six years; then moving to …](https://images.townratings.com/story/13221/bk-8e0a677f789e4768-l.jpg)
ei]7 after Jlr. Cookston's marriag-e he located in Union Co., near where De Graff now stands, wliicli was at that tini(i covered with timber and underbrush. After making several changes, and renting some time, he bought 90 acres ol' land north of De Graff', where he lived six years; then moving to De Graff, and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
after Mr.-Cookston’s marriage he located in Union Co., near where De Graff now stands, which was at that time covered with timber and underbrush. After making several changes, and renting some time, he bought 90 acres of land north of De Graff, where he ‘lived six years; then moving to De Graff, and living there three years, he purchased. 160
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.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Between 624 and 1,358 people in every census since 1870.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on De Graff’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
De Graff’s post office has been open since 1853.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The De Graff post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
De Graff is more historic than 54% 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.
46% of De Graff’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±15.3 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1950.
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 (7), 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 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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