The Deer Park post office opened in 1812, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Beechwood (1884), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 824 in 19202020 census: 5,432214 years
How historic is Deer Park?
B+
More historic than 70% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Deer Park post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Deer Park’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Deer Park is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #428 of 993 in Ohio. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Deer Park’s overall grade.
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 Deer Park’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.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 →
What stands out about Deer Park’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern Railway began running through the town in 1881, along the "Highland Route". In 1795, following the signing of the Treaty of Greenville which provided assurances to Ohio settlers that they would be protected from Indian "intrusions", Samuel and Rebecca DeMent Pierson established the first log home in the area near Deer Park.
In 1894, Deer Park was described as having one store and a Catholic church.
The Deer Park post office opened in 1812, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Deer Park rank for history?
Deer Park is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #428 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.
How old are the homes in Deer Park?
31% of Deer Park’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1947.
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 (1), 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.
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