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C−History
History · Dunham Township

Dunham Township’s post office opened in 1857

More historic than 18% of U.S. towns · #928 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it

Most of Dunham Township was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: maps from 1904 on.

1857first post office
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
Quick answers

How Dunham Township began

When was Dunham Township founded?

1857

The Dunham Township post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Veto (1850) and Dunham (1857), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 2,581169 years

How historic is Dunham Township?

C−

More historic than 18% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Dunham Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Dunham Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dunham Township is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #928 of 993 in Ohio. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dunham Township’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 18%
NewerOlder
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 7%

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 Dunham Township’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 D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size. 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 Dunham Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dunham Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Places that used to be

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

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

Veto
1850–1902
Dunham
1857–1902
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
DunhamVeto
Gone or out of use
Fullerton Memorial ChurchchurchGlendale Churchchurch
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Dunham Township
DunhamEvergreen MemorialHopkinsHopkinsVeto

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

On the map

Dunham Township on the map, 1904 to 1994

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

Dunham Township on the 1904 USGS mapDunham Township on the 1971 USGS mapDunham Township on the 1994 USGS map1904Parkersburg 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 Dunham Township.

The story

How Dunham Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dunham Township.

Read it all →

A post office called Dunham was established in 1857, and remained in operation until 1902. The community shares its name with the township in which it is located.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dunham Township, 1850 to 1904

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850Post officeThe Veto post office opens
  3. 1857Post officeThe Dunham post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902Post officeThe Veto post office closes
  6. 1902Post officeThe Dunham post office closes
  7. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
Famous people

Famous people close to Dunham Township

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

See all →
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Questions about Dunham Township’s history

What year was Dunham Township founded?

The Dunham Township post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Dunham Township rank for history?

Dunham Township is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #928 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 Dunham Township?

3% of Dunham Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1980.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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).

From Wikipedia, 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.