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John M. Annis HousePhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
B−History
History · North Royalton

North Royalton dates to 1818, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns · #670 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it

Most of North Royalton was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Its Register listing is the John M. Annis House. Its Register listing is the John M. Annis House. Below: maps from 1903 on and the census since 1920.

1818founded
1on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How North Royalton began

When was North Royalton founded?

1818

North Royalton dates its founding to 1818 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 1,262 in 19202020 census: 31,322208 years

How historic is North Royalton?

B−

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1829.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives North Royalton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, North Royalton is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #670 of 993 in Ohio. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of North Royalton’s overall grade.
Founding era1818, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19403.0% of homes (±1.2) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 0.3 per 10,000 residents · typical OH town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 49%
NewerOlder
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 33%

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 North Royalton’s 0.3 sits near the middle of its state (46% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.2 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1818.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 North Royalton’s 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 North Royalton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19036 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1994. Watch North Royalton change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1818: 208 years of North Royalton.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start North Royalton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how North Royalton’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
On the map

North Royalton on the map, 1903 to 1994

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

North Royalton on the 1903 USGS mapNorth Royalton on the 1953 USGS mapNorth Royalton on the 1963 USGS mapNorth Royalton on the 1970 USGS mapNorth Royalton on the 1984 USGS mapNorth Royalton on the 1994 USGS map1903Cleveland 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 North Royalton.

Timeline

North Royalton, 1818 to 1988

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1818
    FoundingNorth Royalton is established
  3. 1829Post officeThe North Royalton post office opens
  4. 1863Post officeThe Bennetts Corners post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1904Post officeThe Bennetts Corners post office closes
  8. 1956Post officeThe North Royalton post office closes
  9. 1988Born hereMichael Nanchoff is born here
The story

How North Royalton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of North Royalton.

Read it all →

North Royalton was founded in 1818. Knight Sprague, an early settler, had the township named after his native town in Vermont, Royalton. Sometime between 1880 and 1890, the name of Royalton was changed to North Royalton because of another town in Ohio bearing the same name. On April 4, 1927, the township officially became the Village of North Royalton, and the first mayor, E. C. McCombs, was elected.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

North Royalton, decade by decade

Today3 recent
North Royalton Fire Department Ford F-250 Utility 12019North Royalton Fire Department Ford F-250 Utility 1North Royalton Police Harley Davidson2014North Royalton Police Harley DavidsonNorth Royalton Police Harley Davidson2014North Royalton Police Harley Davidson
On the National Register

1 historic place in North Royalton

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1992
John M. Annis House
John M. Annis House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
John M. Annis HouseGreek Revival

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

People over time

North Royalton, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00019201940196019802000202031,322

Grew from 1,262 people in 1920 to 31,322 in 2020, more than tenfold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in North Royalton

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Michael NanchoffAmerican soccer player · b. 1988
Len PeraltaAmerican cartoonist
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

North Royalton had its own post office from 1829 to 1956. Another post office, Bennetts Corners, opened and closed inside today’s town.

North Royalton
1829–1956
Bennetts Corners
1863–1904
18201920today
Gone or out of use
Bennetts Corners Post Officepost officeNorth Royalton Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside North Royalton
North RoyaltonRoyalton

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Broadview Heights1 historic placeC−Strongsville4 historic placesBParma2 historic placesB+Hinckley TownshipIts storyC+

Questions about North Royalton’s history

What year was North Royalton founded?

In 1818, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. North Royalton’s post office opened in 1829, and the census of 1920 counted 1,262 people here.

How does North Royalton rank for history?

North Royalton is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #670 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 North Royalton?

One place: the John M. Annis House (listed 1992).

How old are the homes in North Royalton?

3% of North Royalton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1983.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (3), 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.