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A+History
History · Gallipolis

Gallipolis dates to 1790, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 97% of U.S. towns · #32 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it

5 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 216 buildings between them. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1840.

1790founded
5on the National Register
33%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
19famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Gallipolis’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Gallipolis began, and where its name came from

When was Gallipolis founded?

1790

Gallipolis 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: 3,313236 years

How did Gallipolis get its name?

Gallipolis’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?

A+

More historic than 97% 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’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gallipolis is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns, #32 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’ overall grade.
Founding era1790, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194032.8% of homes (±10.6) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register5 listings, 219 historic buildings, 700 per 10,000 residents · typical OH town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 97%
NewerOlder
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 97%

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’ 700 sits above most of its state (99% 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 (±10.6 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’ past

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

A historic districtThe Gallipolis Historic District takes in 138 historic buildings.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1885 to 1916, drew every building in Gallipolis.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.
★ What stands out · 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
first listed
1970
Our House
Our HouseOhio Hospital For Epileptics Stone Water TowersGatewoodGallipolis Public Square and Garden Lots Historic DistrictGallipolis Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Federal2
Greek Revival2
Georgian Revival2
Italianate2
Queen Anne2
Richardsonian Romanesque1
Our HouseBuilding
Ohio Hospital For Epileptics Stone Water TowersBuilding
GatewoodBuilding
All 5 listings
Gallipolis Public Square and Garden Lots Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1980Gallipolis Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2001

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

Every building

Gallipolis, building by building, 1885–1916

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.

Gallipolis fire insurance map, 1885, sheet 11885Sheet 1 of 7
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Gallipolis, 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
The story

How Gallipolis came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gallipolis.

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.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Gallipolis in 1907

Passages that mention Gallipolis, cut from the printed page as they were published.

was not pretentious. The dreams of a beautiful town in the West to which they were going, visions in which the emigrants had indulged since Jeaving Paris, were soon dispelled. The town of Gallipolis rose before them. It consisted of two parailel rows of log cabins, each row some three hundred feet …
The Scioto speculation and the French settlement at Gallipolis. A study in Ohio Valley history1907Read the page →
Read the text

was not pretentious. The dreams of a beautiful town in the West to which they were going, visions in which the emigrants had indulged since Jeaving Paris, were soon dispelled. The town of Gallipolis rose before them. It consisted of two parailel rows of log cabins, each row some three hundred feet in length, and forming streets parallel with the river. At intervals of one hundred feet spaces had been left between the huts for cross streets, and at each corner of the rectangle formed by the whole, block-

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.

Timeline

Gallipolis, 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 is established
  3. 1794Post officeThe Gallipolis post office opens
  4. 19th century
  5. 1841Born hereHenry A. Coffeen is born here
  6. 1862In the archiveWVslaveNYTimes
  7. 1896In the archiveJohn Watts McCormick
  8. 20th century
  9. 1900Post officeThe Mapleshade post office opens
  10. 1908On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1911Post officeThe Mapleshade post office closes
  12. 1930In the archiveCircle's Motel, State Route 7 and U.S. 35, Gallipolis, Ohio. Peaceful rest for weary trav…
  13. 1934Born hereSkip Battin is born here
  14. 1939Born hereBrereton C. Jones is born here
  15. 1940In the archiveOverlooking Gallipolis, Ohio
  16. 1950Born hereJenny Holzer is born here
  17. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 8,775
On the map

Gallipolis on the map, 1908 to 1975

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

Gallipolis on the 1908 USGS mapGallipolis on the 1926 USGS mapGallipolis on the 1958 USGS mapGallipolis on the 1968 USGS mapGallipolis 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.

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’ page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Gallipolis, 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’ Wikipedia page.

Famous people

19 famous people were born in Gallipolis

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
J
Jenny HolzerAmerican conceptual artist · b. 1950
Brereton C. JonesAmerican politician in Kentucky · b. 1939
Skip BattinAmerican musician · b. 1934
Henry A. CoffeenAmerican politician · b. 1841
Geoffrey D. MillerRetired United States Army Major General · b. 1949
T
Tyler E. StovallAmerican historian · b. 1954
Places that used to be

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

Gallipolis’s post office has been open since 1794. Another post office, Mapleshade, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gallipolis
1794–today
Mapleshade
1900–1911
17901910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Evans HeightsHedgewoodMapleshadeOrchard Hill
Gone or out of use
Church of GodchurchHolzer School of NursingschoolMapleshade Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Gallipolis
Mound HillPine Street

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

Help out

Finish Gallipolis’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.

Gallipolis Township5 historic placesAKanaugaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Gallipolis’ history

What year was Gallipolis founded?

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

How does Gallipolis rank for history?

Gallipolis is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns, #32 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 Gallipolis?

5 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Our House (listed 1970, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Gallipolis Public Square and Garden Lots Historic District and the Gallipolis Historic District, with 216 contributing buildings. 219 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Gallipolis?

33% of Gallipolis’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.6 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1960.

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), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.