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History · Decatur Township

20% of Decatur Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1898 on.

0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Decatur 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 writtenNo old photos of Decatur Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Decatur Township, and 5 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18985 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 2002. Watch Decatur Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Decatur Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

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

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

Campbell
1841–1917
Ort
1888–1914
Buckhorn
1906–1911
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BuckhornBuckhorn FurnaceCenter StationMoultonVernon
Gone or out of use
Buckhorn Post Officepost office
8cemeteries and burying grounds inside Decatur Township
Buckhorn Number OneCollinsFinleyLittlesRogersThompsonVernonWarneke

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

On the map

Decatur Township on the map, 1898 to 2002

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

Decatur Township on the 1898 USGS mapDecatur Township on the 1900 USGS mapDecatur Township on the 1961 USGS mapDecatur Township on the 1975 USGS mapDecatur Township on the 2002 USGS map1898Ironton 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 Decatur Township.

The story so far

Decatur Township, in brief

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

Decatur Township is one of the fourteen townships of Lawrence County, Ohio, United States. The population was 625 at the 2020 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 726 to 625 (-14%).

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

Timeline

Decatur Township, 1841 to 1917

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1841Post officeThe Campbell post office opens
  3. 1888Post officeThe Ort post office opens
  4. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1906Post officeThe Buckhorn post office opens
  7. 1911Post officeThe Buckhorn post office closes
  8. 1914Post officeThe Ort post office closes
  9. 1917Post officeThe Campbell post office closes
By decade

Decatur Township, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Mud Hollow southern end2016Mud Hollow southern endDecatur Township School with surroundings2016Decatur Township School with surroundingsMap of Lawrence County Ohio Highlighting Decatur Township2015Map of Lawrence County Ohio Highlighting Decatur Town…MapNorthTerminusOhioSR373onOhioSR932007NorthTerminusOhioSR373onOhioSR93DecaturOHOhioSR932007DecaturOHOhioSR93
Famous people

Famous people close to Decatur Township

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

See all →
Billy Ray CyrusAmerican country singer and actor · b. 1961
Bobby BareAmerican country singer · b. 1935
Marion TinsleyAmerican checkers player · b. 1927
R
Ron CyrusKentucky-born Democratic politician · b. 1935
B
Butch MilesAmerican jazz drummer · b. 1944
D
David LivelyFrench classical pianist of US origin · b. 1953
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Washington Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townElizabeth Township1 historic placeBBloom Township1 historic placeA−Symmes TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townVernon TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Decatur Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.