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History · Mason Township

Half of Mason Township’s homes were built after 1987

Most of Mason Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1906 on.

0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mason Township’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Mason Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages8 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Mason Township, and 9 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19064 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 2002. Watch Mason Township change.Old burying grounds16 cemeteries and burying grounds inside Mason Township.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Eight other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Greasyridge
1855–1953
Arabia
1858–1912
Rappsburg
1879–1959
Suiter
1880–1929
Wilgus
1880–1942
Okey
1890–1932
Yarico
1890–1905
Lecta
1897–1957
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ArabiaGreasy RidgeLectaOkeyRappsburgSaundersvilleSuiterWilgusYarico
Gone or out of use
Arabia Post Officepost officeGreasyridge Post Officepost officeLecta Post Officepost officeOkey Post Officepost officeRappsburg Post Officepost officeSuiter Post Officepost officeWilgus Post Officepost officeYarico Post Officepost office
16cemeteries and burying grounds inside Mason Township
BrumfieldCallicoatFairview BaptistHaskinsLawrence ChapelLocust Grove Methodist EpiscopalNew ZionOkeyOld BaptistRappRoseRoseRuckerRuckerSandersUnited Baptist

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Mason Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mason Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewOhio's "Son of Beast" roller coaster at…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Mason Township on the map, 1906 to 2002

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Mason Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Mason Township on the 1906 USGS mapMason Township on the 1961 USGS mapMason Township on the 1985 USGS mapMason Township on the 2002 USGS map1906Athalia 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 Mason Township.

The story so far

Mason Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Mason Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Mason Township is one of the fourteen townships of Lawrence County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 974.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,116 to 974 (-13%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Mason Township, 1855 to 1980

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855Post officeThe Greasyridge post office opens
  3. 1858Post officeThe Arabia post office opens
  4. 1879Post officeThe Rappsburg post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1912Post officeThe Arabia post office closes
  8. 1953Post officeThe Greasyridge post office closes
  9. 1959Post officeThe Rappsburg post office closes
  10. 1980In the archiveOhio's "Son of Beast" roller coaster at King's Island, Ohio
By decade

Mason Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s2 items
Ohio's "Son of Beast" roller coaster at King's Island, Ohio1980Ohio's "Son of Beast" roller coaster at King's Island…"Son of Beast" roller coaster at King's Island amusement park1980"Son of Beast" roller coaster at King's Island amusem…
1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
Patrons stroll among the rides at King's Island theme park2016Patrons stroll among the rides at King's Island theme…Mason Township winter wheat fields2016Mason Township winter wheat fieldsMap of Lawrence County Ohio Highlighting Mason Township2015Map of Lawrence County Ohio Highlighting Mason Townsh…Map
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Ohio's "Son of Beast" roller coaster at King's Island, Ohio
Retake this viewOhio's "Son of Beast" roller coaster at King's Island, Ohio, 1980

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Mason Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Mason Township

Nobody well known was born in Mason Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Brad DourifAmerican actor · b. 1950
Thomas MassieAmerican politician · b. 1971
O. J. MayoAmerican basketball player · b. 1987
Hal GreerAmerican basketball player · b. 1936
Aaron StatonAmerican actor · b. 1980
Bobby BareAmerican country singer · b. 1935
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Windsor Township1 historic placeB−Guyan TownshipIts storyC−Walnut TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAid TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Mason Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (3), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.