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History · Hayesville

Hayesville dates to 1830, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Hayesville Opera House, the Vermilion Institute and the Kelley, William, Hardware Store-Hayesville Odd Fellows Hall. Below: maps from 1908 on and the census since 1850.

1830founded

3on the National Register

38%homes built before 1940

1famous people

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Quick answers

How Hayesville began

When was Hayesville founded?

1830

Hayesville dates its founding to 1830 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 441 in 18502020 census: 447196 years

Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1826.The full story ↓

What stands out about Hayesville’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 Hayesville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19084 editions of the USGS map, 1908 to 1982. Watch Hayesville change.Old housesHalf of Hayesville’s homes were built before 1952.Deep rootsEstablished in 1830: 196 years of Hayesville.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hayesville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

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On the map

Hayesville on the map, 1908 to 1982

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

1908Ashland 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 Hayesville.

The story

How Hayesville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hayesville.

Read it all →

Lemuel Boulter was the original owner of the land that the village of Hayesville was formed. Boulter sold his interest in the land to Linus Hayes. The first settlers came to the Hayesville area in 1817. A post office for the settlers was established in 1827 at Hayes Cross Roads. Hayesville was laid out in Vermillion Township and plots were recorded in Mansfield, Ohio on October 26, 1830. The village was named after Linus Hayes, proprietor. Hayes Cross Roads was later renamed Hayesville. The village of Hayesville was incorporated in 1849.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Hayesville in 1863

Passages that mention Hayesville, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That so much of the Township of Vermillion, in the County of Ashland, as is included in the town plat of the Town of Hayesville, together with such additions as may hereafter be made thereto, be, and the same is hereby declared a t… — **History of Ashland County, Ohio**1863 · page 297Read the page →
Read the text
Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That so much of the Township of Vermillion, in the County of Ashland, as is included in the town plat of the Town of Hayesville, together with such additions as may hereafter be made thereto, be, and the same is hereby declared a town corporate, by the name of the Town of Hayesville, and by that name shall be a body corporate and politic, with per-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

**History of Ashland County, Ohio**1863 · page 278Read the page →
Read the text
The town of Hayesville was laid out in the fall of 1830, and the town plat recorded in Mansfield, October 26, 1830. The first public sale of lots occurred on the 18th of November of the same year.
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

Hayesville, 1826 to 1908

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

19th century
1826Post officeThe Hayes Cross Roads post office opens
1830
FoundingHayesville is established
1841Post officeThe Hayes Cross Roads post office closes
1841Post officeThe Hayesville post office opens
1879Born hereRalph Eugene Diffendorfer is born here
20th century
1908On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey

By decade

Hayesville, decade by decade

Today3 recent

Map of Ashland County Ohio Highlighting Hayesville Village

2015Map of Ashland County Ohio Highlighting Hayesville Vi…Map

2010Hayesville P9010125

2004OHMap-doton-Hayesville

Every building

Hayesville, building by building, 1929

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 sheet.

Hayesville fire insurance map, 1929, sheet 1

1929Sheet 1 of 1

Sheets

BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

3 historic places in Hayesville

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

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1976

Hayesville Opera House

Buildings

Hayesville Opera HouseBuilding

Vermilion InstituteBuilding

Kelley, William, Hardware Store-Hayesville Odd Fellows HallBuilding

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

People over time

Hayesville, census by census

Between 247 and 576 people in every census since 1850.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hayesville’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Hayesville’s post office has been open since 1841. Another post office, Hayes Cross Roads, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hayes Cross Roads

1826–1841

Hayesville

1841–today

18201920today

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

Questions about Hayesville’s history

What year was Hayesville founded?

In 1830, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Hayesville’s post office opened in 1826, and the census of 1850 counted 441 people here.

What is on the National Register in Hayesville?

Three places: the Hayesville Opera House (listed 1976), the Vermilion Institute (1978) and the Kelley, William, Hardware Store-Hayesville Odd Fellows Hall (2017).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

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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 (3), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.

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