On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jefferson Township is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #271 of 993 in Ohio. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jefferson 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 Jefferson Township’s 34.8 sits above most of its state (86% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 48 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% 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 (±3.0 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 Jefferson Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Reservoir, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Harbor PointHighland ParkIdlewildLakeland BeachLivingston Mobile Home ParkNorthwoodSleepy Hollow Acres
Gone or out of use
Brock SchoolschoolBuck SchoolschoolCelina QuarrymineKarch Stone QuarrymineMcDaniels SchoolschoolReservoir StationlocaleSchool Number 8school
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Jefferson Township
Mercer Memory GardensOldtownSwamp College
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Jefferson Township on the map, 1914 to 1982
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Jefferson Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1914Celina 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 Jefferson Township.
The story so far
Jefferson Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Jefferson Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Jefferson Township is one of the fourteen townships of Mercer County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 13,802 people in the township.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 13,155 to 13,802 (+5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Jefferson Township, 1856 to 1923
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Jefferson Township is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #271 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 Jefferson Township?
6 listings: 1 structure. 48 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Jefferson Township?
13% of Jefferson Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1971.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.