Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 55% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1901 on, and the census since 1880.
The Gibsonburg post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Faith (1891), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
More historic than 55% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gibsonburg is more historic than 55% 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 Gibsonburg’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: 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 →
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 Gibsonburg’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gibsonburg. 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 Gibsonburg.
From Wikipedia’s history of Gibsonburg.
Gibsonburg had its start in the year 1871, when General William H. Gibson laid out the town after the railroad had been extended to that point. Gibsonburg was incorporated as a village in 1880.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Gibsonburg, cut from the printed page as they were published.
ing of some of the first houses erected in Gibsonburg. For several years more he worked in a saw-mill and for two years was in the employ of the Gibsonburg Natural Gas and Oil Company and superintended the putting in of their plant. Mr. Bowser then became identified with the Buckeye Supply Company, which was changed in January, 1896, to the National
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
mill business for two years. In 1893 he bought a store at Helena, which he operated successfully for six years, then sold out and purchased a store at Gibsonburg. He conducted this establishment some six years, it being located west of the railroad, and then sold out to M. E. Long & Son. He has since that time devoted his attention to his home affairs. He
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The old log meeting-house was built in 1845. The present house, one mile directly south of Gibsonburg, was built in 1864. There are about seventy members. A Methodist Episcopal class was formed at Gibsonburg in 1873, Rev. Christian Wolf being the first preacher. In 1877 the old school-house was purchased and
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.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
1902Sheet 1 of 5Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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 Gibsonburg’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 585 and 2,585 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Gibsonburg’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Gibsonburg itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Gibsonburg’s post office has been open since 1872. Another post office, Faith, 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).
The Gibsonburg post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Gibsonburg is more historic than 55% 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.
55% of Gibsonburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 (12), Wikipedia, 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.
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