The story
Read it all →How Lake Lorelei came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Lake Lorelei.
Lake Lorelei was started in the late 1960s by property developers as a lakeside planned community.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
DHistory
History · Lake Lorelei
Half of Lake Lorelei’s homes were built after 1993
More historic than 15% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Lake Lorelei was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: maps from 1917 on.
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
About Lake Lorelei’s history
How historic is Lake Lorelei?
D
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 15% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Lake Lorelei’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lake Lorelei is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lake Lorelei’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19403.8% of homes (±4.7) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical OH town 2.9 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 15%
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 Lake Lorelei’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 is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 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 Lorelei’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Lake Lorelei’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lake Lorelei’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Lake Lorelei on the map, 1917 to 1974
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lake Lorelei. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1917Sardinia sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lake Lorelei.
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.
Add from your albumQuestions about Lake Lorelei’s history
How does Lake Lorelei rank for history?
Lake Lorelei is more historic than 15% 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 Lake Lorelei?
4% of Lake Lorelei’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1993.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikipedia 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.