On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Madison Township is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #859 of 993 in Ohio. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Madison 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 Madison Township’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 Madison Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Madison Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1909Newark 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 Madison Township.
The story so far
Madison Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Madison Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Madison Township is one of the 25 townships of Licking County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,248.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 3,211 in 2010, 3,248 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Madison Township in 1902
Passages that mention Madison Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Madison Township, including Groveport and Canal Winchester, Franklin County, Ohio1902 · page 119Read the page →
Read the text
September 17, i860, a committee was appointed by the Board of Education of Madison Township consisting of Jacob Sarber, Wm. Perrin and Henry Long "for the purpose of visiting the school houses in sub-district Xo. 18 to ascertain whether they have school room enough, and to report at the April meeting." On April 15, 1861, this committee submitted a report which "was received and the committee discharged," and on
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Madison Township, including Groveport and Canal Winchester, Franklin County, Ohio1902 · page 83Read the page →
Read the text
The office of Township Ditch Supervision was created by the Legislature of 1899- 1900, and on September 3, 1900, the Trustees of Madison Township appointed Edward A. Peters to fill the office. Mr. Peters was then elected in April, 1901, and resigned on July 26, 1901. Madison Township was the first in the State to have a Township Ditch Supervisor. Clint A. Stevenson was appointed to fill the vacancy, and assumed
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
Madison Township, 1895 to 1909
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Ben, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
BenMarne
Gone or out of use
Ben Post Officepost officeBenwell FarmlocaleBrooklyn FarmlocaleBrookside SchoolschoolCedar Grove FarmlocaleDeer Lick FarmlocaleGreenwood FarmlocaleIronspring FarmlocaleLehigh FarmlocaleLocust Hill FarmlocaleMeadow Brook FarmlocaleMount Bend FarmlocaleOak Ridge FarmlocaleOak Wood Hall FarmlocaleOakwood FarmlocalePleasant Valley FarmlocaleRural Vale FarmlocaleShawnee Run Farmlocale
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Madison Township
Bowling GreenPleasant ChapelSpring Grove
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Madison Township is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #859 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 Madison Township?
11% of Madison Township’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 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 (2), 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.