Mingo Junction dates to 1869, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 83% of U.S. towns · #267 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 52 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1872.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Mingo Junction’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mingo Junction is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #267 of 993 in Ohio. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mingo Junction’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 Mingo Junction’s 166 sits above most of its state (96% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 54 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% 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 (±10.3 points). Two sources give 1869.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Mingo Junction’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Mingo people once had a settlement at the location of the present-day village, which is the source of its name. Originally known as Mingo Bottom or Mingo Town, it was the starting point for the ill-fated Crawford expedition against Native Americans in 1782, during the American Revolutionary War.
In 1770, George Washington set out on an expedition to explore the Ohio River Valley. On October 22, he camped overnight in what was known then as Mingo Town, describing it as blustery and cold with about 20 cabins and 70 inhabitants of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Washington wrote a complete account of his observations in a diary stored in the Library of Congress.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Mingo Junction. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1904Steubenville 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 Mingo Junction.
Every building
Mingo Junction, building by building, 1924–1929
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.
In 1869, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Mingo Junction’s post office opened in 1872, and the census of 1880 counted 371 people here.
How does Mingo Junction rank for history?
Mingo Junction is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #267 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.
What is on the National Register in Mingo Junction?
4 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Central High School (listed 1987, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Commercial Street Historic District and the North Hill Historic District, with 52 contributing buildings. 54 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Mingo Junction?
30% of Mingo Junction’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 1954.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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