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A−History
History · Harpersfield Township

Harpersfield Township dates to 1798, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #303 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Shandy Hall and the Harpersfield Covered Bridge. Below: maps from 1905 on.

1798founded
2on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Harpersfield Township began

When was Harpersfield Township founded?

1798

Harpersfield Township dates its founding to 1798 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1804.

2020 census: 2,591228 years

How historic is Harpersfield Township?

A−

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1804.
History grade

What drives Harpersfield Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Harpersfield Township is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #303 of 993 in Ohio. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Harpersfield Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1798, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194017.8% of homes (±7.7) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register2 listings, 7.8 per 10,000 residents · typical OH town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 80%
NewerOlder
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 70%

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 Harpersfield Township’s 7.8 sits above most of its state (71% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±7.7 points). Two sources give 1798.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Harpersfield Township’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 Harpersfield Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Harpersfield Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19054 editions of the USGS map, 1905 to 1994. Watch Harpersfield Township change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1798: 228 years of Harpersfield Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Harpersfield Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Harpersfield Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

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

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Harpersfield
1804–1903
Cork
1830–1904
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CorkHarpersfieldWhispering Willows Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Echerd AirfieldairportHarpersfield Post Officepost office
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Harpersfield Township
CorkHarpersfieldHutchinsMainOld UnionvilleSouth River Road

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

On the map

Harpersfield Township on the map, 1905 to 1994

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

Harpersfield Township on the 1905 USGS mapHarpersfield Township on the 1960 USGS mapHarpersfield Township on the 1970 USGS mapHarpersfield Township on the 1994 USGS map1905Ashtabula 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 Harpersfield Township.

The story so far

Harpersfield Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Harpersfield Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Harpersfield Township is one of the twenty-seven townships of Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 2,591 people in the township.

Harpersfield Township was established in 1798. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,695 to 2,591 (-4%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Harpersfield Township, 1798 to 1905

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1798
    FoundingHarpersfield Township is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1804Post officeThe Harpersfield post office opens
  5. 1830Post officeThe Cork post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1903Post officeThe Harpersfield post office closes
  8. 1904Post officeThe Cork post office closes
  9. 1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Harpersfield Township, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Map of Ashtabula County Ohio Highlighting Harpersfield Township2015Map of Ashtabula County Ohio Highlighting Harpersfiel…MapShandy Hall near Geneva2014Shandy Hall near GenevaHarpersfield Township2009Harpersfield TownshipCork Elementary School2006Cork Elementary SchoolCork Elementary School Bell2006Cork Elementary School Bell
On the National Register

2 historic places in Harpersfield Township

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Shandy Hall
Shandy HallHarpersfield Covered Bridge
BuildingsStructures
Shandy HallBuilding
Harpersfield Covered BridgeStructure

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Harpersfield Township

Nobody well known was born in Harpersfield Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Ransom E. OldsAmerican businessman · b. 1864
Robert LighthizerFormer US Trade Representative · b. 1947
Don NovelloAmerican actor and director · b. 1943
D
Danielle NicoletActress · b. 1973
Freddie SmithAmerican actor · b. 1988
Eleanor SmealAmerican activist · b. 1939
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Geneva Township1 historic placeAGenevaIts storyB+Austinburg Township3 historic placesATrumbull TownshipIts storyBMadison Township38 historic placesA−

Questions about Harpersfield Township’s history

What year was Harpersfield Township founded?

In 1798, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Harpersfield Township’s post office opened in 1804.

How does Harpersfield Township rank for history?

Harpersfield Township is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #303 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 Harpersfield Township?

Two places: the Shandy Hall (listed 1974) and the Harpersfield Covered Bridge (1975).

How old are the homes in Harpersfield Township?

18% of Harpersfield Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1979.

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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.