Founding year: the first Garrettsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Garrettsville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Garrettsville is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Garrettsville’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 Garrettsville’s 3.6 sits near the middle of its state (59% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±10.4 points). 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 Garrettsville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Garrettsville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1905Garrettsville 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 Garrettsville.
Every building
Garrettsville, building by building, 1884–1913
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.
1884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Colonel John Garrett III purchased 300 acres (120 ha) of land in Nelson Township, then part of Trumbull County, in 1803, the year Ohio became a state. The land was purchased for the price of $1,313, or about $4.40 per acre. In July of the following year, he settled on this land with his family and two slave girls, 6 and 10 years old. These settlers constructed a grist mill, which was to open in January 1806. Garrett, however, died that same month.
Passages that mention Garrettsville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Portage County, Ohio1885 · page 733Read the page →
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the Garrettsville schools in the midst of a school year, he engaged as Superintendent and occupied that position four terms. Subsequently he has twice been elected Justice of the Peace, twice as Mayor of the incorporated village of Garrettsville, four times as member of the Board of Education, and has also been Clerk of the Board many years. He has often acted as Executor, Administrator, Assignee and Guardian in the settlement and management of estates. In politics Mr. Norton is Republican. In 1S48 he united with the Disciple Church at Hiram, and had his membership with that denomination
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Portage County, Ohio1885 · page 465Read the page →
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Garrettsville Grist-mill was built by Edwin Atwood and Leman Ferry in 1837, and finished in the fall of that year. They operated it jointly until Mr. Ferry sold out his interest. Mr. Atwood continued to hold his interest in the mill until the beginning of 1884, when it was sold by his guardians to former past owners, the Vanderslices. The property was leased by Goodhue & Nelson in August, 1884. The capacity is thirty barrels of flour and from 150 to 200 bushels chopfeed per day. The mill employs four men throughout the year. The value of machinery and buildings is about $9,000.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Portage County, Ohio. Containing a history of the county, its townships, towns, villages, schools, churches, industries, etc1885 · page 465Read the page →
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Garrettsville Grist-mill was built by Edwin Atwood and Lenian Ferry in 1837, and finished in the fall of that year. They operated it jointly until Mr. Ferry sold out his interest. Mr. Atwood continued to hold his interest in the mill until the beginning of 1884, when it was sold by hie guardians to former past owners, the Vanderslices. The property was leaaed by Goodhue & Nelson in August, ISS L The capacity is thirty barrels of flour and from 150 to 200 bushels chop-foed per day. The mill employs four men throughout the year. The value of machinery and buildings is about 19,000.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Portage County, Ohio. Containing a history of the county, its townships, towns, villages, schools, churches, industries, etc1885 · page 211Read the page →
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At Garrettsville the Conglomerate is fully exposed, and rises thirty feet above the depot, or 485 feet above the lake. Two miles west of Garrettsville the base of the ridge referred to is reached, and in the ravine bj the roadside the following section is exposed : Coarse sandrock. -with some small pebbles 80 Irregular seam of coal 1 Bbale, with bands of sandstone 90 Black shale, with iron 1
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
Garrettsville, 1830 to 1979
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 Garrettsville post office opened in 1830, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Garrettsville rank for history?
Garrettsville is more historic than 88% 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.
What is on the National Register in Garrettsville?
One place: the Mott Drug Store (listed 1996).
How old are the homes in Garrettsville?
41% of Garrettsville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.4 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1957.
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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
c. 1865
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