The Mantua post office opened in 1811, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Mantua Station (1857), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,001215 years
How historic is Mantua?
A+
More historic than 96% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Mantua post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Mantua’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mantua is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mantua’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 Mantua’s 90.8 sits above most of its state (92% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±10.3 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 Mantua’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first settlers came to Mantua Township in 1798. The area that eventually became the village of Mantua was owned by the Tappan family of Ravenna, Ohio. The town was laid out in the 1840s as Mantua Station, a stop on the Cleveland and Mahoning Valley Railroad. It was incorporated as Mantua in 1898. Like the township, the village is named after the Italian city of Mantua, in honor of Napoleon, who had captured it in early 1797 at the end of the Siege of Mantua.
Mantua includes three properties on the National Register of Historic Places: the Horace L. Hine House, the Mantua Station Brick Commercial District, and the William H. Crafts House.
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.
The Mantua post office opened in 1811, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Mantua rank for history?
Mantua is more historic than 96% 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 Mantua?
Three places: the Horace L. Hine House (listed 1976), the Crafts William H., House (1982) and the Mantua Station Brick Commercial District (1974).
How old are the homes in Mantua?
56% of Mantua’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.3 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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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