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History · Knox Township

Knox Township’s post office opened in 1883

Most of Knox Township was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: maps from 1905 on.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How Knox Township began

When was Knox Township founded?

1883

The Knox Township post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Polens Mills (1840), Bolins Mills (1878) and Knox (1883), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 541143 years
Founding year: the first Knox Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Knox Township’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 Knox Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Knox Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19054 editions of the USGS map, 1905 to 1992. Watch Knox Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Knox Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Knox Township’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Polens Mills
1840–1852
Bolins Mills
1878–1910
Knox
1883–1908
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bolins MillsKnox
Gone or out of use
Seldom Seen Schoolschool
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Knox Township
Bethel Holiness MissionBolinBrooksClarkHarkins ChapelUnion RidgeWeaver Chapel

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

On the map

Knox Township on the map, 1905 to 1992

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

Knox Township on the 1905 USGS mapKnox Township on the 1961 USGS mapKnox Township on the 1975 USGS mapKnox Township on the 1992 USGS map1905Wilkesville 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 Knox Township.

The story so far

Knox Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Knox Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Knox Township is one of the twelve townships of Vinton County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 541 people in the township.

Its first post office opened in 1883. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 559 to 541 (-3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Knox Township, 1840 to 1910

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1840Post officeThe Polens Mills post office opens
  3. 1852Post officeThe Polens Mills post office closes
  4. 1878Post officeThe Bolins Mills post office opens
  5. 1883Post officeThe Knox post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1908Post officeThe Knox post office closes
  9. 1910Post officeThe Bolins Mills post office closes
By decade

Knox Township, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Harkins Chapel UB Church2016Harkins Chapel UB ChurchMap of Vinton County Ohio Highlighting2015Map of Vinton County Ohio HighlightingMap
Famous people

Famous people close to Knox Township

Nobody well known was born in Knox Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Sarah Jessica ParkerAmerican actress · b. 1965
Pamela S. SoltisAmerican botanist · b. 1957
D
David Sutherland HibbardAmerican academic · b. 1868
D
Dick BatesAmerican baseball player · b. 1945
J
Jay EdwardsAmerican politician
J
Jerry HarringtonAmerican baseball player · b. 1868
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Lee TownshipIts storyB−Madison Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWaterloo TownshipIts storyC−Brown Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townColumbia TownshipIts storyD

Questions about Knox Township’s history

What year was Knox Township founded?

The Knox Township post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), 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.