On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lawrence Township is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #227 of 993 in Ohio. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lawrence 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 Lawrence Township’s 56.8 sits above most of its state (90% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 77 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 (±3.7 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 Lawrence Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Lawrence Township on the map, 1901 to 1994
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lawrence Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1901Massillon 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 Lawrence Township.
The story so far
Lawrence Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lawrence Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Lawrence Township is one of the seventeen townships of Stark County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 13,548 people in the township.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 13,702 in 2010, 13,548 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Lawrence Township in 1916
Passages that mention Lawrence Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A standard history of Stark County, Ohio1916 · page 521Read the page →
Read the text
Canal Fulton Canal Fulton is located in the northwestern corner of Stark County in Lawrence Township. The town as originally laid out in 1814 was located on the west side of the Tuscarawas River and was called Milan. Later, as it grew in size, it spread across the river and the name was
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
Lawrence Township, 1821 to 1936
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Lawrence Township is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #227 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 Lawrence Township?
14% of Lawrence Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 (6), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), 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.