On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lake Darby is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #976 of 993 in Ohio. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lake Darby’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 Lake Darby’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% 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 (±1.0 points) is firm at this size.
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 Lake Darby’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lake Darby. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1923West Columbus 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 Lake Darby.
The story so far
Lake Darby, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lake Darby yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Lake Darby is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Franklin County, Ohio, United States, located mostly in Prairie Township and partly in Brown Township. It is more commonly known among locals as Darby Estates, which is also the name of the older housing development there, with the newer development called "West Point". As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 4,731.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 4,592 to 4,731 (+3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Lake Darby is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #976 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 Lake Darby?
0.9% of Lake Darby’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
