The story
Read it all →How Gratiot came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Gratiot.
Gratiot was platted in 1829, and named in honor of Charles Gratiot.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Gratiot
Gratiot dates to 1829, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1910 on and the census since 1880.
1829founded
0on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Gratiot began
When was Gratiot founded?
1829
Gratiot dates its founding to 1829 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.
First census: 67 in 18802020 census: 215197 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1831.The full story ↓
What stands out about Gratiot’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Gratiot are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19104 editions of the USGS map, 1910 to 1992. Watch Gratiot change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1829: 197 years of Gratiot.Old housesHalf of Gratiot’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Gratiot’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gratiot’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Gratiot on the map, 1910 to 1992
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gratiot. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1910Zanesville sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Gratiot.
Timeline
Gratiot, 1829 to 1910
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1829FoundingGratiot is established
- 1831Post officeThe Gratiot post office opens
- 20th century
- 1910
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
From the old history books
What they wrote about Gratiot in 1881
Passages that mention Gratiot, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Licking County, Ohio1881 · page 480Read the page →
Read the text
Gratiot is situated on the National pike, immediately on the county line between Muskingu* and Licking. It was laid out by Adam Smith about fifty years ago, very 'soon after the permaneff location of the National road, and named in homr of General Gratiot, then in active service in the rejular army. It came to be a post town of about three | hundred inhabitants. It contains two churches—
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.
By decade
Gratiot, decade by decade
2016
2016
2016
2015
2004People over time
Gratiot, census by census
Between 67 and 232 people in every census since 1880.
9 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Gratiot’s Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Gratiot’s history
What year was Gratiot founded?
In 1829, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Gratiot’s post office opened in 1831, and the census of 1880 counted 67 people here.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (5), 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 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.