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AHistory
History · Gallipolis Township

Gallipolis Township dates to 1790, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 95% of U.S. towns · #67 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it

5 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1908 on, and the census since 1840.

1790founded
5on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Gallipolis Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Gallipolis Township began, and where its name came from

When was Gallipolis Township founded?

1790

Gallipolis Township dates its founding to 1790 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1840.

First census: 1,413 in 18402020 census: 4,725236 years

How did Gallipolis Township get its name?

Gallipolis Township’s name comes from its Gallic heritage ("The city of the Gauls") and is known as "The Old French City" because of this beginning.

How historic is Gallipolis Township?

A

More historic than 95% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1794. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Gallipolis Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gallipolis Township is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #67 of 993 in Ohio. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gallipolis Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1790, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194024.6% of homes (±7.6) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register5 listings, 219 historic buildings, 465 per 10,000 residents · typical OH town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 95%
NewerOlder
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 93%

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 Gallipolis Township’s 465 sits above most of its state (98% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 219 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.6 points). Two sources give 1790.

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 →

What stands out about Gallipolis Township’s past

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

Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Gallipolis Township, and 7 old place names are still on the map.A town in old photos18 old photos, postcards and papers, 1862–1943.Boom and bustPeaked at 8,775 in 1960; 3,313 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19085 editions of the USGS map, 1908 to 1975. Watch Gallipolis Township change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Another post office, Kanauga, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Grandview EstatesHanersvilleKanaugaLawnviewTown and Country EstatesWestbrook VillageWillow Woods
Gone or out of use
Kanauga Post Officepost office

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

By decade

Gallipolis Township, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s–1890s3 items
WVslaveNYTimes1862WVslaveNYTimesGallipolis, ie Town of the French, in 17911865Gallipolis, ie Town of the French, in 1791John Watts McCormick1896John Watts McCormick
1900s–1920snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
1930s–1940s15 items
Circle's Motel, State Route 7 and U.S. 35, Gallipolis, Ohio. Peaceful rest for weary travelers (85306)c. 1930Circle's Motel, State Route 7 and U.S. 35, Gallipolis…Overlooking Gallipolis, Ohio1940Overlooking Gallipolis, OhioGallipolis, Ohio. Selective Service Board. Gallia County, Ohio1942Gallipolis, Ohio. Selective Service Board. Gallia Cou…Gallipolis, Ohio. Selective Service Board. Gallia County, Ohio1942Gallipolis, Ohio. Selective Service Board. Gallia Cou…Gallipolis, Ohio1943Gallipolis, OhioGallipolis, Ohio1943Gallipolis, OhioGallipolis, Ohio. Roller dam at Gallipolis locks1943Gallipolis, Ohio. Roller dam at Gallipolis locksGallipolis, Ohio. Towboat Katherine Davis1943Gallipolis, Ohio. Towboat Katherine DavisLooking towards Gallipolis, Ohio1943Looking towards Gallipolis, OhioLooking at Gallipolis, Ohio1943Looking at Gallipolis, OhioTerritory around Gallipolis, Ohio1943Territory around Gallipolis, OhioLand around Gallipolis, Ohio1943Land around Gallipolis, OhioLand around Gallipolis, Ohio1943Land around Gallipolis, OhioGallipolis, Ohio. Katherine Davis going down the Ohio River through the Gallipolis locks1943Gallipolis, Ohio. Katherine Davis going down the Ohio…Gallipolis, Ohio. Katherine Davis going down the Ohio River through the Gallipolis locks1943Gallipolis, Ohio. Katherine Davis going down the Ohio…
1950s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
People over time

Gallipolis Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,0001850190019502000Peak: 8,775

Peaked at 8,775 in 1960; 3,313 people lived here in 2020.

19 censuses, 1840–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Gallipolis Township’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Gallipolis Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gallipolis Township.

Read it all →

Gallipolis was first settled by Europeans in 1790: "The French 500" were a group of French aristocrats, merchants, and artisans who were fleeing the violence and disruption of the French Revolution. They were led by Count Jean-Joseph de Barth, an Alsatian member of the French National Assembly. It was the second city to be founded in the newly organized Northwest Territory of the United States, after Marietta, Ohio. Its name comes from its Gallic heritage ("The city of the Gauls") and is known as "The Old French City" because of this beginning.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Gallipolis Township, 1790 to 1960

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1790
    FoundingGallipolis Township is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1862In the archiveWVslaveNYTimes
  5. 1896In the archiveJohn Watts McCormick
  6. 1896Post officeThe Kanauga post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1908On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1930In the archiveCircle's Motel, State Route 7 and U.S. 35, Gallipolis, Ohio. Peaceful rest for weary trav…
  10. 1940In the archiveOverlooking Gallipolis, Ohio
  11. 1960Post officeThe Kanauga post office closes
  12. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 8,775
On the map

Gallipolis Township on the map, 1908 to 1975

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

Gallipolis Township on the 1908 USGS mapGallipolis Township on the 1926 USGS mapGallipolis Township on the 1958 USGS mapGallipolis Township on the 1968 USGS mapGallipolis Township on the 1975 USGS map1908Point Pleasant 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 Gallipolis Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

WVslaveNYTimes
Retake this viewWVslaveNYTimes, 1862

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Gallipolis Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

5 listings protect 219 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
219
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Finish Gallipolis Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewWVslaveNYTimes: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Gallipolis5 historic placesA+Green TownshipIts storyC−KanaugaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAddison TownshipIts storyC+Clay TownshipIts storyD

Questions about Gallipolis Township’s history

What year was Gallipolis Township founded?

In 1790, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Gallipolis Township’s post office opened in 1794, and the census of 1840 counted 1,413 people here.

How does Gallipolis Township rank for history?

Gallipolis Township is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #67 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 Gallipolis Township?

25% of Gallipolis Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.6 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1966.

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 Wikimedia Commons (4), the Library of Congress (14), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.