On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Johnson Township is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #63 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.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Johnson 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 Johnson Township’s 12.7 sits above most of its state (77% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% 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 (±9.0 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 Johnson Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Johnson Township on the map, 1914 to 1961
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Johnson Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1914St Paris 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 Johnson Township.
The story so far
Johnson Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Johnson Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Johnson Township is one of the twelve townships of Champaign County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 United States census reported 3,077 people living in the township, down from 3,506 in 2010.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 3,506 to 3,077 (-12%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Johnson Township in 1881
Passages that mention Johnson Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Champaign county, Ohio, containing a history of the county1881 · page 447Read the page →
Read the text
The chief products then wTere corn, wheat, flax and sugar ; meat consisting of game and pork. The salt came from Cincinnati, whither the pioneer went, generally taking maple sugar to exchange for that article. The grist-mill of the times was out of the present limits of Johnson Township, but as the settlement was dependent upon it, we will be allowed to speak of it. This was the John Norman mill, on Nettle Creek. Norman had placed a slight obstruction in the channel of the creek, where he had a wheel for the water to flow against, and a little primitive gearing set in motion a small stone that he formed out of
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
Johnson Township, 1838 to 1914
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Johnson Township is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #63 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 Johnson Township?
40% of Johnson Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.0 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1952.
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 (2), 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.
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