The New Lyme Township post office opened in 1825, the earliest record of the town by name. Five smaller post offices, New Lyme (1825), South New Lyme (1873) and New Lyme Station (1875), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,015201 years
How historic is New Lyme Township?
A
More historic than 93% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first New Lyme Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives New Lyme Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, New Lyme Township is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns. 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 Lyme Township’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 Lyme Township’s 13.7 sits above most of its state (78% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 2 listings 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 (±27.3 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 Lyme Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of New Lyme Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1905Jefferson 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 Lyme Township.
The story so far
New Lyme Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of New Lyme Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
New Lyme Township is one of the twenty-seven townships of Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 1,015 people in the township.
Its first post office opened in 1825. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,116 to 1,015 (-9%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about New Lyme Township in 1924
Passages that mention New Lyme Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Ashtabula County Ohio1924 · page 371Read the page →
Read the text
families, and on their return were accompanied by Eusebius Dodge, Zopher Gee, Charles Knowles and Sanford Miller, the entire party making the journey with ox teams in just six weeks. The above named individuals and families constituted the real pioneer settlers of New Lyme Township, wherein many of their descendants still reside. The influx of 1811 gave the population of New Lyme Township a big impetus. The experiences of many of the emigrants en route to the new home section were not all pleasant. For much of the way there were no
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 Lyme Township, 1825 to 1991
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The New Lyme Township post office opened in 1825, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does New Lyme Township rank for history?
New Lyme Township is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns. 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 Lyme Township?
Two places: the New Lyme Town Hall (listed 1975) and the New Lyme Institute (1976).
How old are the homes in New Lyme Township?
46% of New Lyme Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±27.3 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1955.
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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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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