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History · New Athens

New Athens dates to 1817, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Franklin College Building No. 5. Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1850.

1817founded
1on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How New Athens began

When was New Athens founded?

1817

New Athens dates its founding to 1817 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 331 in 18502020 census: 222209 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1818.The full story ↓

What stands out about New Athens’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of New Athens are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 509 in 1950; 222 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19053 editions of the USGS map, 1905 to 1978. Watch New Athens change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1817: 209 years of New Athens.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start New Athens’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how New Athens’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

New Athens, census by census

01002003004005001850190019502000Peak: 509

Peaked at 509 in 1950; 222 people lived here in 2020.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on New Athens’ Wikipedia page.

On the map

New Athens on the map, 1905 to 1978

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

New Athens on the 1905 USGS mapNew Athens on the 1960 USGS mapNew Athens on the 1978 USGS map1905St Clairsville 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 New Athens.

The story

How New Athens came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of New Athens.

Read it all →

New Athens was platted in 1817. A post office has been in operation at New Athens since 1818.

Franklin College was founded in 1818 by abolitionist John Walker, a Presbyterian minister. The college ceased operation in 1919. Over the course of over 100 years, the college was key in the education of two governors, eight U.S. Senators, and nine U.S. Congressmen and twenty state legislators.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

New Athens, 1805 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1805Born hereJohn Welch is born here
  3. 1817
    FoundingNew Athens is established
  4. 1818Post officeThe New Athens post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 509
By decade

New Athens, decade by decade

Today6 recent
EF2damageNewAthensOhio20212021EF2damageNewAthensOhio2021Farmall 560 diesel2017Farmall 560 dieselMap of Harrison County Ohio Highlighting New Athens Village2015Map of Harrison County Ohio Highlighting New Athens V…MapFranklin College historical marker2013Franklin College historical markerFranklin Museum New Athen Ohio2009Franklin Museum New Athen OhioOHMap-doton-New Athens2004OHMap-doton-New Athens
On the National Register

1 historic place in New Athens

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1987
Franklin College Building No. 5
Franklin College Building No. 5
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Georgian Revival1
Franklin College Building No. 5Georgian Revival

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

Questions about New Athens’ history

What year was New Athens founded?

In 1817, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. New Athens’ post office opened in 1818, and the census of 1850 counted 331 people here.

What is on the National Register in New Athens?

One place: the Franklin College Building No. 5 (listed 1987).

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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) 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.