On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Harrison Township is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #249 of 993 in Ohio. All 2 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 Harrison Township’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 Harrison Township’s 1.9 sits near the middle of its state (52% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.2 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Harrison Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Crooksville AirportairportFlint Ridge SchoolschoolLarzelere SchoolschoolLocust Grove SchoolschoolLyonsdale Post Officepost officeMcLuney Post Officepost officeWigton Schoolschool
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Harrison Township
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Harrison Township on the map, 1910 to 1975
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Harrison Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1910Zanesville 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 Harrison Township.
The story so far
Harrison Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Harrison Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Harrison Township is one of the fourteen townships of Perry County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 5,145 people in the township.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 5,253 to 5,145 (-2%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Harrison Township in 1902
Passages that mention Harrison Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Harrison Township was formerly a part of Clayton. Hence it belonged to Muskingum county. It was organized in 1820. It was named for General Harrison the Hero of Tippecanoe. The township was settled about 1806.
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
Harrison Township, 1856 to 1941
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Harrison Township is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #249 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.
How old are the homes in Harrison Township?
37% of Harrison Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.2 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1962.
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 (3), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.