Founding year: the first New Lexington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives New Lexington’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, New Lexington is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #208 of 993 in Ohio. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of New Lexington’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 New Lexington’s 4.4 sits near the middle of its state (62% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 New Lexington’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
On the map
New Lexington on the map, 1911 to 2002
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of New Lexington. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1911New Lexington 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 Lexington.
The area around New Lexington and Perry County had been home to various indigenous groups for centuries prior to European settlement. Archeologists have found mounds and relics from groups such as the Adena and Hopewell cultures in areas near present-day New Lexington, most notably the Glenford Fort mound.
The Shawnee tribe lived across wide areas of Ohio including Perry County prior to the 1800s. After Tecumseh's defeat at the Battle of the Thames in 1813, many Shawnee were forced to relocate to present-day Oklahoma.
Passages that mention New Lexington, cut from the printed page as they were published.
1883 history perry county, ohio1883 · page 129Read the page →
Read the text
journey through Athens county, appeared to be heading for New Lexington, and, in fact, he gave out the word that he intended to visit and plunder the town. A citizen of Vinton county, who had for a while resided at New Lexington, followed up the raiders, mingled and talked with some of them, and believing that they really intended to sack the town of New Lexington, made a detour around Morgan's command, and being splendidly mounted, urged his steed along the ridges and valleys, and over the hills, determined to give his friends warning of the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
1883 history perry county, ohio1883 · page 305Read the page →
Read the text
This church antedates the oldest Baptist church at New Lexington, and is the first Baptist Church built south of the State road, leading from Zanesville to Lancaster. The Baptists of New Lexington attended the Hazleton church several years, and until the New Lexington church was organized. Mrs. Julia Barnd, an aged pioneer, recently deceased, used to say that in those pioneer times she had frequently walked from 3)
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
New Lexington, 1829 to 1928
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.
The New Lexington post office opened in 1829, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does New Lexington rank for history?
New Lexington is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #208 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 New Lexington?
One place: the Perry County Courthouse and Jail (listed 1981).
How old are the homes in New Lexington?
30% of New Lexington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1949.
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 (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), 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.
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