More historic than 32% of U.S. towns · #830 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Most of Mason was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1898 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1829.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Mason’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mason is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #830 of 993 in Ohio. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mason’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 Mason’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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1815.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Mason’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
On June 1, 1803, Revolutionary War veteran William Mason paid $1,700 at auction to purchase 640 acres (2.6 km2) of land in what is now downtown Mason. In 1815, he platted 16 lots on this land and named the village "Palmyra."
In 1835, a petition was sent to the federal post office to correct the name of the town. The town had been listed as Kirkwood, possibly an error because the postmaster at the time was named William Kirkwood. When village officials were informed that there was another Palmyra in Ohio, the name was officially changed to "Mason."
In 1923, Main Street was paved, prompting a celebration throughout the town.
Passages that mention Mason, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The History of Warren County, Ohio1882 · page 646Read the page →
Read the text
Section 1 . Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, that so much of the township of Deerfield, in the county of Warren, as is included within the limits of the original plat of the town of Palmyra, now called Mason, and the additions thereto, be and the same is hereby created a town corporate by the name of the town of Mason.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The History of Warren County, Ohio1882 · page 963Read the page →
Read the text
J. C. BENNETT, Merchant, Mason. The gentleman whose name heads this sketch is one of the prosperous business men of Warren County, and in the little village of Mason, he stands prominently to the front in the mercantile circles of the place; to say that his position to the “ bulls ” and “ bears ” of Mason can be likened unto the position that J ay Gould sustains to the “bears” and “bulls” of Wall street, is not putting it too strong, for “Cal.”
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
lency, to propose the 1st of May next to run the line by astronomical observations. But in the mean time, for the sake of settling the minds of the f>eople, and preventing disputes among the borderers, to have a temporary ine run by common surveyors from the termination of Mason and Dixon's line to the Ohio ; or if that should not be agreeable, to extend it twentythree miles from the end of Mason and Dixon's line, that being the extent of five degrees, according to common computation. In this case we only propose to mark the trees, avoiding as much as possible unnecessary expense.
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
Mason, 1815 to 1995
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born 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.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1898Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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.
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’s page.
In 1815, according to Wikidata. Mason’s post office opened in 1829, and the census of 1850 counted 431 people here.
How does Mason rank for history?
Mason is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #830 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 Mason?
2% of Mason’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1996.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (8), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
1980
2016
2016
2016
2016
2016
2016
2016
2010
2008
2006
