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Henry County Courthouse — Napoleon, Ohio (cropped)Photo: Christopher L. Riley · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Napoleon Township

Napoleon Township dates to 1834, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 20 old photos and papers, maps from 1908 on, and the census since 1850.

1834founded
4on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
20old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Napoleon Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Napoleon Township began

When was Napoleon Township founded?

1834

Napoleon Township dates its founding to 1834 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 566 in 18502020 census: 9,750192 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1835.The full story ↓

What stands out about Napoleon Township’s past

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

A town in postcards20 old photos, postcards and papers, 1879–1930.Then and nowOne place photographed years apart. Drag to compare.On the map since 19083 editions of the USGS map, 1908 to 1971. Watch Napoleon Township change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1834: 192 years of Napoleon Township.
★ What stands out · By decade

Napoleon Township, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1900s12 items
Street view, Napoleon, Ohio (approximately 1879) - DPLA - a999e37254ed712f42b6b4ba4567e1341879Street view, Napoleon, Ohio (approximately 1879) - DP…"Public School", Napoleon, Ohio1904"Public School", Napoleon, OhioPostcard"Public School", Napoleon, Ohio1904"Public School", Napoleon, OhioPostcardHigh School, Napoleon, Ohio1908High School, Napoleon, OhioPostcardHigh School, Napoleon, Ohio1908High School, Napoleon, OhioPostcardPresbyterian Church, Napoleon, O1908Presbyterian Church, Napoleon, OPostcardPresbyterian Church, Napoleon, O1908Presbyterian Church, Napoleon, OPostcardRiver Bridge, Napoleon, Ohio1908River Bridge, Napoleon, OhioPostcardRiver Bridge, Napoleon, Ohio1908River Bridge, Napoleon, OhioPostcardRiver Bridge, Napoleon, Ohio1908River Bridge, Napoleon, OhioPostcardRiver Bridge, Napoleon, Ohio1908River Bridge, Napoleon, OhioPostcardRiver Bridge, Napoleon, Ohio1908River Bridge, Napoleon, OhioPostcard
1910s6 items
Holly's Island and Maumee River near Napoleon, Ohio1911Holly's Island and Maumee River near Napoleon, OhioPostcardHolly's Island and Maumee River near Napoleon, Ohio1911Holly's Island and Maumee River near Napoleon, OhioPostcardScott St., Napoleon, O1912Scott St., Napoleon, OPostcardScott St., Napoleon, O1912Scott St., Napoleon, OPostcardHenry County Court House and Sheriff's Residence, Napoleon, O1914Henry County Court House and Sheriff's Residence, Nap…PostcardHenry County Court House and Sheriff's Residence, Napoleon, O1914Henry County Court House and Sheriff's Residence, Nap…Postcard
1930s2 items
Biddies Motel, Napoleon, Ohio, corner U.S. 6 -- 110 on the beautiful Maumee River (82080)c. 1930Biddies Motel, Napoleon, Ohio, corner U.S. 6 -- 110 o…PostcardBiddies Motel, Napoleon, Ohio. Corner U.S. 6 -- 110 on the beautiful Maumee River (80824)c. 1930Biddies Motel, Napoleon, Ohio. Corner U.S. 6 -- 110 o…Postcard
1940s–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
PREX 3054 ND&W Napoleon, Ohio - October 20212021PREX 3054 ND&W Napoleon, Ohio - October 2021End of the line - May 20212021End of the line - May 2021Greetings from Napoleon, Ohio - Large Letter Postcard2012Greetings from Napoleon, Ohio - Large Letter PostcardDocument
Then & now

The same spot, years apart

Drag across each photo to compare.

First Presbyterian ChurchPresbyterian Church, Napoleon, O1908Today
Presbyterian Church, Napoleon, OMatched from the two captions
On the map

Napoleon Township on the map, 1908 to 1971

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

Napoleon Township on the 1908 USGS mapNapoleon Township on the 1959 USGS mapNapoleon Township on the 1971 USGS map1908Napoleon 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 Napoleon Township.

The story

How Napoleon Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Napoleon Township.

Read it all →

The area around the town was once known as "the Great Black Swamp". This area was opened to European settlement following the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, which took place about 26 miles to the east.

The City of Napoleon was founded in 1832 and named for French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. The Miami and Erie Canal was finished in 1843, bringing German immigrants to the area. By the 1880s, the town had more than 3,000 residents; the population growth due in part to the town's location on the Miami and Erie Canal and two separate railroad lines. At the time, most employment existed through businesses which made products for farmers in the surrounding countryside.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Napoleon Township, 1834 to 1930

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1834
    FoundingNapoleon Township is established
  3. 1863Post officeThe Petonquet post office opens
  4. 1866Post officeThe Petonquet post office closes
  5. 1866Post officeThe Okolona post office opens
  6. 1879In the archiveStreet view, Napoleon, Ohio (approximately 1879) - DPLA - a999e37254ed712f42b6b4ba4567e134
  7. 20th century
  8. 1904In the archive"Public School", Napoleon, Ohio
  9. 1908On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1911In the archiveHolly's Island and Maumee River near Napoleon, Ohio
  11. 1930In the archiveBiddies Motel, Napoleon, Ohio, corner U.S. 6 -- 110 on the beautiful Maumee River (82080)
On the National Register

4 historic places in Napoleon Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Napoleon Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,0001850190019502000Peak: 9,318

Between 566 and 9,318 people in every census since 1850.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Napoleon Township’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

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

Another post office, Petonquet, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Petonquet
1863–1866
Okolona
1866–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bostelmans CornersOkolona
Gone or out of use
Union Chapel ChurchchurchZion Lutheran Churchchurch
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Napoleon Township
BremerBreySaint AugustineSaint Pauls ChurchUnion ChapelZion

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

Help out

Finish Napoleon Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewStreet view, Napoleon, Ohio (approximat…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Liberty TownshipIts storyBFlatrock TownshipIts storyB+Harrison TownshipIts storyB+Adams TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFreedom TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Napoleon Township’s history

What year was Napoleon Township founded?

In 1834, according to Wikidata. Napoleon Township’s post office opened in 1835, and the census of 1850 counted 566 people here.

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 (23), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, 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.