Findlay’s post office opened in 1870, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 79% of U.S. towns · #335 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
11 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 263 buildings. Below: 15 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1830.
The Findlay post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1887. Two smaller post offices, Fort Finley (1825) and Finley (1828), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 52 in 18302020 census: 40,313156 years
How historic is Findlay?
A−
More historic than 79% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Findlay post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1887.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Findlay’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Findlay is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #335 of 993 in Ohio. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Findlay’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 Findlay’s 67.8 sits above most of its state (91% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 273 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% 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 (±2.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1887 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Findlay’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Findlay’s post office has been open since 1870. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Fort Finley
1825–1828
Finley
1828–1870
Findlay
1870–today
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Chateau EastClearwater Trailer ParkDeer Ridge Mobile Home ParkEastowne EstatesHighland EstatesOak Avenue Mobile Home ParkSouth FindlayThomas Northview Trailer CourtWest Park
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Findlay, building by building, 1884–1924
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.
In the War of 1812, Colonel James Findlay of Cincinnati built a road and a stockade to transport and shelter troops in the Great Black Swamp region. This stockade was named Fort Findlay in his honor. At the conclusion of the war, the community of Findlay was born. The first town lots were laid out in 1821 by future Ohio Governor Joseph Vance and Elnathan Corry.
Before the Civil War, Findlay was a stop for slaves along the Underground Railroad.
In 1861, David Ross Locke moved to Findlay, where he served as editor for the Hancock Jeffersonian newspaper until he left in 1865. It was in the Hancock Jeffersonian that Locke penned the first of his Nasby letters.
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 Findlay post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1887.
How does Findlay rank for history?
Findlay is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #335 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 Findlay?
11 listings: 9 buildings, among them the Hancock County Courthouse (listed 1973, the first), 1 historic district, the Findlay Downtown Historic District, with 263 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 273 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Findlay?
21% of Findlay’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 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 (8), the Library of Congress (7), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (11), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1887
1887
1903
1905
1905
1905
1905
1905
1906
1906
1906
1906
1906
