From Deerfield Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Deerfield Township began
When was Deerfield Township founded?
1804
The Deerfield Township post office opened in 1804, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Yale (1883), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 2,838222 years
How historic is Deerfield Township?
B+
More historic than 74% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Deerfield Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Deerfield Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Deerfield Township is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #376 of 993 in Ohio. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Deerfield Township’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 Deerfield Township’s 3.5 sits near the middle of its state (58% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.6 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 Deerfield Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Yale, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Deerfield
1804–today
Yale
1883–1903
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
All Seasons Lake ParkDeerfieldHutsonNorth Benton Station
Gone or out of use
Deerfield StationlocaleYale Post Officepost office
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Deerfield Township
DeerfieldHartzellHaydenMottown
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Deerfield Township on the map, 1906 to 1994
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Deerfield Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1906Ravenna 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 Deerfield Township.
The story so far
Deerfield Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Deerfield Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Deerfield Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 2,838 people in the township.
Its first post office opened in 1804. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 2,822 in 2010, 2,838 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Deerfield Township, 1804 to 1933
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The Deerfield Township post office opened in 1804, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Deerfield Township rank for history?
Deerfield Township is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #376 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.
What is on the National Register in Deerfield Township?
One place: the John Diver House and Storebuilding (listed 1982).
How old are the homes in Deerfield Township?
17% of Deerfield Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1971.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
1933
2011
2011
2011
2008