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B+History
History · Kings Mills

Kings Mills dates to 1884, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 69% of U.S. towns. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: maps from 1955 on.

1884founded
1on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Kings Mills began

When was Kings Mills founded?

1884

Kings Mills dates its founding to 1884 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1822.

2020 census: 1,336142 years

How historic is Kings Mills?

B+

More historic than 69% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1822.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Kings Mills’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kings Mills is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kings Mills’ overall grade.
Founding era1884, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194021.1% of homes (±12.8) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register1 listing, 3 historic buildings, 25.5 per 10,000 residents · typical OH town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 69%
NewerOlder

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 Kings Mills’ 25.5 sits above most of its state (83% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±12.8 points). Two sources give 1884.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Kings Mills’ 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 Kings Mills are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Kings Mills’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Kings Mills came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Kings Mills.

Read it all →

Another town, Gainsboro, was platted on the site of present-day Kings Mills in 1815, but it did not prosper. Kings Mills was established in 1884 as a company town for the King Powder Company, and the Peters Cartridge Company which ceased operations in 1944.

Kings Mills was formerly the home of the College Football Hall of Fame, which moved to South Bend, Indiana in 1995.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Kings Mills, 1884 to 1997

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1884
    FoundingKings Mills is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1997Born hereLeelah Alcorn is born here
By decade

Kings Mills, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Kjhsfrontphoto2016Kjhsfrontphoto
On the map

Kings Mills on the map, 1955 to 1968

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

Kings Mills on the 1955 USGS mapKings Mills on the 1968 USGS map1955South Lebanon sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Kings Mills.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Kings Mills

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Deerfield Township1 historic placeCMasonIts storyCSouth Lebanon1 historic placeB−Hamilton Township1 historic placeC+

Questions about Kings Mills’ history

What year was Kings Mills founded?

In 1884, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Kings Mills’ post office opened in 1822.

How does Kings Mills rank for history?

Kings Mills is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns. 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 Kings Mills?

21% of Kings Mills’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±12.8 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1994.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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 (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.