The Malvern post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Brown (1828), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 269 in 18702020 census: 1,110186 years
How historic is Malvern?
A
More historic than 88% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Malvern post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Malvern’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Malvern is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Malvern’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 Malvern’s 6.7 sits above most of its state (68% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±10.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Malvern’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Malvern was laid out in 1834 by Rev. William Hardesty as the village of Troy. It was renamed to Malvern in 1840. On May 31, 1869, Malvern was incorporated as a village. Home of some of the first paving bricks made in Ohio (1893), made by the Malvern Clay Company and the Canton & Malvern Fire Clay Paving Brick Company. These companies produced some 7.5 million and 9.0 million bricks per year, as in the year 1893. These bricks can be seen around Malvern today, in both buildings, foundations, and streets.
Malvern’s post office has been open since 1840. Another post office, Brown, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Brown
1828–1840
Malvern
1840–today
18201920today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Malvern
HardestySaint Xavier
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Malvern’s history
What year was Malvern founded?
The Malvern post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Malvern rank for history?
Malvern is more historic than 88% 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.
What is on the National Register in Malvern?
One place: the Methodist Episcopal Church (listed 2024).
How old are the homes in Malvern?
35% of Malvern’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.5 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1965.
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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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