Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #275 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Pennsylvania Railroad Depot And Baggage Room, a National Historic Landmark. Below: maps from 1887 on and the census since 1870.
Dennison dates its founding to 1865 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dennison is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #275 of 993 in Ohio. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls 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 Dennison’s 24.5 sits above most of its state (82% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Dennison’s history is told.
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.
1887Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Peaked at 5,524 in 1920; 2,709 people lived here in 2020.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Dennison’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Dennison.
The confluence of coal and railroads drove the development of Dennison. It is located at the midpoint between Pittsburgh and Columbus -- 100 miles (160 km) from each. At the time, locomotives needed water every 100 miles (160 km), so Dennison was a natural refilling location. The Dennison Coal Company had mines south of town.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Dennison, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The town of Dennison is located on the east side of Little Stillwater Creek from Uhrichsville, the creek forming the dividing line between the two towns. It was named after Hon. William Dennison, Ohio’s famous war Governor, now deceased, and, bearing the name of one so widely known, together with the fact that the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railway Company had announced their intention of making it the principal point on their line between Pittsburgh and Columbus, the town became familiar to the public from the start. Dennison is sometimes called, and very appropriately, too, the M Al-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
There have been three additions to the town of Dennison since it was first laid out, viz., Shipton’s Addition on the southeast. Mozena’s Addition on the southwest, and McKee’s Addition on the north.
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.
Born hereDave Wright is born here
Born hereDick Gossett is born here
Born hereMarie Walcamp is born here
BuiltLanning, T., & Co. Department Store is built
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereGreg DiDonato is born hereEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dennison. 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 Dennison.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.
★ Landmark
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Dennison’s post office has been open since 1869.
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.
In 1865, according to Wikidata. Dennison’s post office opened in 1869, and the census of 1870 counted 828 people here.
Dennison is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #275 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.
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Pennsylvania Railroad Depot And Baggage Room (a National Historic Landmark since 2011). 6 historic buildings in all.
46% of Dennison’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.8 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 (6), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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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