Lancaster dates to 1800, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 94% of U.S. towns · #75 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
12 places in town are on the National Register, among them the John Sherman Birthplace, a National Historic Landmark, and six historic districts with 355 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1820.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1801.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lancaster’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lancaster is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #75 of 993 in Ohio. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lancaster’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 Lancaster’s 87.3 sits above most of its state (92% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 360 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share (±1.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1800.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Lancaster’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Lancaster, building by building, 1884–1919
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The earliest known inhabitants of the southeastern and central Ohio region were the Hopewell, Adena, and Fort Ancient Native Americans, of whom little evidence survived, beyond the burial and ceremonial mounds built throughout the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys. Many mounds and burial sites have also yielded archaeological artifacts. Serpent Mound and Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, though not in Fairfield County, are nearby.
Passages that mention Lancaster, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Centennial history of lancaster ohio and landcaster people 18981898 · page 20Read the page →
Read the text
Caleb Atwater, in his history of Ohio, says of Lancaster: ‘““Before Lancaster was laid out, travelers, who passed along Zane’s trace, through the then, vast forest of Ohio, called this spot, ‘the place where they crossed the Hockhocking, near the Standing Rock.’”
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Centennial history of lancaster ohio and landcaster people 18981898 · page 19Read the page →
Read the text
e HE town of Lancaster was laid out in 1800 by Ebenezer Zane, of Wheeling, Va. The original plat was bounded on the west by Front Street, through which the canal passes; on the east by Broad Alley, which is the alley running north and southeast of Fourth Street; on the north by one tier of lots on the north side of Mulberry Street; and on the south by one tier of lots on the south side of Chestnut
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.
Timeline
Lancaster, 1800 to 1964
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
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.
Grew from 1,037 people in 1820 to 40,552 in 2020, more than tenfold.
21 censuses, 1820–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lancaster’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Lancaster’s post office has been open since 1801. Another post office, Camp Ground, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Lancaster
1801–today
Camp Ground
1907–1954
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Carpenters AdditionLancaster Mobile EstatesSandstoneTarhe TownTaylor Mobile Home ParkWhites
Gone or out of use
Bishop Fenwick High SchoolschoolCamp AndersonmilitaryCamp Ground Post Officepost officeHowes AcademyschoolPark Street HospitalhospitalUtica Schoolschool
In 1800, according to Wikidata. Lancaster’s post office opened in 1801, and the census of 1820 counted 1,037 people here.
How does Lancaster rank for history?
Lancaster is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #75 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.
What is on the National Register in Lancaster?
12 listings: 5 buildings, among them the John Sherman Birthplace (a National Historic Landmark since 1964), and 6 historic districts with 355 contributing buildings. 360 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Lancaster?
25% of Lancaster’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1963.
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 the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (12), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
★ Landmark
1938
1938
1938
