Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 1880.
Fayette dates its founding to 1872 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fayette is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull 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 Fayette’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.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Fayette’s history is told.
Lost two-thirds of its people between 1920 and 1930, then grew 3-fold.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Fayette’s Wikipedia page.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fayette. 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 Fayette.
From Wikipedia’s history of Fayette.
Fayette was incorporated as a village in 1872 when the railroad was extended to that point. A post office called Fayette has been in operation since 1873.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Fayette, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Fayette county has paid large sums into the public treasury and has received but small appropriations from it. Nearly two millions of dollars have been expended in different parts of the commonwealth in turnpike roads, but not one cent of it was spent in Fayette county. Nearly two millions of dollars have been expended within the commonwealth for bridges, canals, etc., but not a farthing of it in Fayette county. Internal improvements on a magnificent scale have been projected, but
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Kovember 4, 1872, the city was divided into four fire wards; Court Street being the dividing line. The first ward composed of that portion of the city lying north of Court Street and east of Fayette ; the second ward consisted of the territory lying north of Court and west of Fayette ; the third occupied that part of the city lying south of Court and west of Fayette ; and the*fonrth comprised the remainder of the corporation lying south of Court and east of Fayette.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
1872. Officers were elected and preparations made. On November 4, 1872, the city was divided into four fire wards, Court street being the dividing line. The first ward composed that portion of the city lying north of Court street and east of Fayette ; the second ward consisted of the territory lying north of Court and west of Fayette ; the third occupied that part of the city lying south of Court and west of Fayette; and the fourth comprised the remainder of the corporation lying south of Court and east (ff Fayette.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The passenger and freight station of the Fayette County railroad was located on the north side of Penn street at the terminus of the road. A new passenger station was erected on North Gallatin avenue in 1905, and the old station used only for freight and freight offices.
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.
In the archiveFayette, OH - Oct. 1, 1907
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyOne decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Fayette’s page.
Retake this view · +15Fayette’s post office has been open since 1873. Another post office, Gorham, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
In 1872, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Fayette’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1880 counted 579 people here.
Fayette is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns. 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.
30% of Fayette’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.4 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1966.
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 (7), 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 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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