The story
Read it all →How Independence came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Independence.
Independence was originally called Center and was renamed in 1830.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
A−History
History · Independence
Independence dates to 1814, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #321 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
6 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Ohio and Erie Canal, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 12 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1903 on and the census since 1880.
1814founded
6on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Quick answers
How Independence began
When was Independence founded?
1814
Independence dates its founding to 1814 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.
First census: 262 in 18802020 census: 7,584212 years
How historic is Independence?
A−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1831.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Independence’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Independence is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #321 of 993 in Ohio. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Independence’s overall grade.
Founding era1814, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194010.8% of homes (±5.4) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register6 listings, 15 historic buildings, 19.9 per 10,000 residents · typical OH town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 80%
NewerOlder
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 68%
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 Independence’s 19.9 sits above most of its state (81% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 15 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% 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 (±5.4 points). Two sources give 1814.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Independence’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 Independence are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A National Historic Landmark6 places on the National Register, including Ohio and Erie Canal, a National Historic Landmark.On the map since 19036 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1994. Watch Independence change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1814: 212 years of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Independence’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Independence’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 National Register
6 historic places in Independence
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.
places listed
6
National Historic Landmark
1
Ohio and Erie Canal
historic buildings protected
15
each building in a district counts
first listed
1966
Ohio and Erie Canal
BuildingsDistrictsStructures★ landmark
Architectural styles listings
Greek Revival2
Commercial Style1
★ LandmarkOhio and Erie CanalDistrict
Independence Presbyterian ChurchBuilt 1853
Packard-Doubler HouseGreek Revival · Built 1864
Fuller-Bramley HouseGreek Revival
All 6 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
On the map
Independence on the map, 1903 to 1994
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Independence. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1903Cleveland 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 Independence.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Independence in 1879
Passages that mention Independence, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio. With portraits and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers1879 · page 407Read the page →
Read the text
The first manufacturing in the township was on Tinker's creek, near the line of Independence. Sometime about 1815 two men, named Adams and Starr, put up a sawmill and a gristmill, both small, at a point about thirty rods above the mills now situated in that locality. The first mills were suffered to go down, and in 1830 Culverson and Boland improved the present site. The mills erected by them soon
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio. With portraits and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers1879 · page 225Read the page →
Read the text
precipitous banks, through the extreme southeastern part of the present city, long known as Newburg, and then, curving southward, emptied into the river in the present township of Independence. Another brook, ere long known as Doan's creek, from one of the earliest of the pioneers, having begun its course in Warrensville, ran southwestward through the extreme eastei-n part of the present city to the lake, but
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
Independence, 1814 to 1966
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1814FoundingIndependence is established
- 1831Post officeThe Independence post office opens
- 1853BuiltIndependence Presbyterian Church is built
- 1864BuiltPackard-Doubler House is built
- 20th century
- 1903
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1953Born hereNadine Secunde is born here
- 1955Post officeThe Independence post office closes
- 1966LandmarkOhio and Erie Canal named a National Historic Landmark
By decade
Independence, decade by decade
2016
2014
2014
2014People over time
Independence, census by census
Grew from 262 people in 1880 to 7,584 in 2020, more than tenfold.
12 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Independence’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Independence had its own post office from 1831 to 1955.
Independence
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Willow
Gone or out of use
Independence Post Officepost officeWillow Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Independence
Maple Shade
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Independence’s history
What year was Independence founded?
In 1814, according to Wikidata. Independence’s post office opened in 1831, and the census of 1880 counted 262 people here.
How does Independence rank for history?
Independence is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #321 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 Independence?
6 listings: 3 buildings, 2 historic districts, the Ohio and Erie Canal and the William Tricker Inc. Historic District, with 12 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 15 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Independence?
11% of Independence’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1960.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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 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.