On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lake Township is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #18 of 993 in Ohio. All 2 inputs put Lake Township near the top nationally; its National Register listings ranks highest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lake 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 Lake Township’s 59.8 sits above most of its state (90% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 76 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% 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 (±5.6 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 Lake Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
76
each building in a district counts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The story so far
Lake Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lake Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Lake Township is one of the seventeen townships of Logan County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,774, making it the largest township in Logan County by population.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 12,534 in 2010, 12,774 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Lake Township in 1880
Passages that mention Lake Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Logan County and Ohio1880 · page 321Read the page →
Read the text
was organized, 18th of April, 1820. Our authority says that the County Commissioners, upon the petition of a number of the residents of the southern part of Lake Township, set off the Township of Union, and ordered an election to be held for choosing Township officers.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Logan County and Ohio1880 · page 321Read the page →
Read the text
was organized, 18th of April, 1820. Our authority says that the County Commissioners, upon the petition of a number of the residents of the southern part of Lake Township, set off the Township of Union, and ordered an election to be held for choosing Township officers.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Logan County and Ohio1880 · page 486Read the page →
Read the text
having been destroyed, the writer is unable to give any data in reference to the organization, save that the township as at present bounded, was cut off from Lake Township in the year 1832. The township officers for 1880 are: Conrad Moots, Absalom P. Conard and Thomas G. Ewing, Trustees; Henry W. Cordrey, Clerk; Thomas J. Turner, Treasurer; W.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Logan County and Ohio1880 · page 329Read the page →
Read the text
them forward from him. The principal road carae from Urbana, and passed through this county in a northerly direction. Cominginto the neighbojhood of Lake Township, it crossed McKee's Creek a few feet west of the point where that stream is spanned by the Cincinnati, Sandusky & Cleveland Railroad bridge.
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.
By decade
Lake Township, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lake Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1986Bellefontaine sheet · 1:100,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lake Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Lake Township
Nobody well known was born in Lake Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Lake Township is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #18 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 Township?
33% of Lake Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1961.
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 (5), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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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