Loveland’s post office opened in 1848, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 65% of U.S. towns · #477 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Most of Loveland was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Its Register listing is the Edwin M. Shield's House. Its Register listing is the Edwin M. Shield's House. Below: maps from 1904 on and the census since 1880.
The Loveland post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1876. Two smaller post offices, Obionsville (1831) and Obanionsville (1832), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 595 in 18802020 census: 13,307178 years
How historic is Loveland?
B+
More historic than 65% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Loveland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1876.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Loveland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Loveland is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #477 of 993 in Ohio. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Loveland’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 Loveland’s 5.3 sits above most of its state (65% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1876.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Loveland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The city is named after James Loveland, who operated a general store and post office near the railroad tracks downtown. It was incorporated as a village on May 12 or 16, 1876, and incorporated as a chartered city in 1961.
Present-day Loveland originally lay at the edges of the Symmes Purchase and Virginia Military District, in what was then the Northwest Territory. The area was first settled in 1795 by Col. Thomas Paxton:
Passages that mention Loveland, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio1894 · page 457Read the page →
Read the text
West Loveland, by the census of 1890, had a population of 392. It is incorporated with the village of Loveland, which enjoys the unique distinction of being situated in three counties— Clermont, Warren, and Hamilton. That part west of the Little Miami river was originally embraced in the Ferguson farm, forty-six acres of which were purchased in 1872 by Dr. N. W. Bishop. He at once subdivided the entire tract, and offered the lots at public sale April 28, 1872. The bridge across the river was then approaching completion, and the property was regarded with great favor. About half of the property has been improved. It is purely a place
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Genealogy of the Loveland family in the United States of America from 1635 to 1892, containing the descendants of Thomas Loveland of Wethersfield, now Glastonbury, Conn., also English notes, and information biographical, historical and traditional of the1892Read the page →
Read the text
and built the first house (log) on the very spot where the town of Loveland, in Ohio, now stands. He lived there four years and then returned to Chatham. Yours respectfullv, Thankful H. Ai-bro.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio1894 · page 457Read the page →
Read the text
West Loveland , by the census of 1890, had a population of 392. It is incorporated with the village of Loveland, which enjoys the unique distinction of being situated in three counties — Clermont, Warren, and Hamilton. That part west of the Little Miami river was originally embraced in the Ferguson farm, forty-six acres of which were purchased in 1872 by Dr. N. W. Bishop. He at once subdivided the entire tract, and offered the lots at public sale April 28, 1872. The bridge across the river was then approaching completion, and the property was regarded with great favor. About half of the property has been improved. It is purely a place
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Genealogy of the Loveland family in the United States of America from 1635 to 1892, containing the descendants of Thomas Loveland of Wethersfield, now Glastonbury, Conn., also English notes, and information biographical, historical and traditional of the1892 · page 34Read the page →
Read the text
ward," in 1818 he moved with his family, Thankful being at that period four years of age, to what was then thought to be the dense forests of the west, and settled in Ohio, near what is now the town of Loveland. Their journey was not just what a move from Boston to Cincinnati would be in these days. From Boston they went in a sailing vessel to Baltimore, and the rest of the route with horses and wagons. The four years spent there was emphatically a frontier experience. The day was spent in toil to
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
Loveland, 1831 to 1996
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Loveland post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1876.
How does Loveland rank for history?
Loveland is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #477 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 Loveland?
One place: the Edwin M. Shield's House (listed 1982).
How old are the homes in Loveland?
5% of Loveland’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 1985.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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 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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