Niles dates to 1806, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 84% of U.S. towns · #241 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Its Register listings are the McKinley Memorial, the Ward-Thomas House and the Niles Masonic Temple. Below: maps from 1898 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1819.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Niles’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Niles is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #241 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 Niles’ 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 Niles’ 3.3 sits near the middle of its state (57% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 points). Two sources give 1806.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Niles’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Niles’s post office has been open since 1843. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Wethersfield
1819–1843
Heatons Furnace
1840–1842
Niles
1843–today
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Buckeye Mobile Home ParkEkerts CornersHakes CornersSouth Niles
1cemetery inside Niles
Niles Union
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Niles, building by building, 1898–1915
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.
Niles was founded in 1806 by James Heaton, who owned one of the first iron-ore processing plants in Ohio. The town originally went by the name of Heaton's Furnace but was later renamed Nilestown after Hezekiah Niles, editor of the influential Weekly Register news magazine. The name was shortened to Niles in 1843. In the early 19th century, Heaton built a forge and, later, a charcoal blast furnace in the area just east of what is now the city's central park, on the west side of Mosquito Creek. Heaton is credited with producing the first bar iron in Ohio.
In 1806, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Niles’ post office opened in 1819, and the census of 1880 counted 3,879 people here.
How does Niles rank for history?
Niles is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #241 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 Niles?
Three places: the McKinley Memorial (listed 1975), the Ward-Thomas House (1984) and the Niles Masonic Temple (2006).
How old are the homes in Niles?
24% of Niles’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1963.
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 (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, 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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