Olmsted Falls was first counted by the census in 1870, and 5 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 58% of U.S. towns · #566 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Most of Olmsted Falls was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. 5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 20 buildings. Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1870.
Olmsted Falls first appears in the census in 1870. Three smaller post offices, Frostvillie (1829), Norris Falls (1843) and West View (1859), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 383 in 18702020 census: 8,582156 years
How historic is Olmsted Falls?
B
More historic than 58% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Olmsted Falls is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #566 of 993 in Ohio. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Olmsted Falls’ 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 Olmsted Falls’ 31.3 sits above most of its state (84% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 27 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% 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 (±2.8 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: the first census (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 Olmsted Falls’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
After the Revolutionary War, the area that later became Olmsted Township, from which Olmsted Falls (as well as most of North Olmsted) was subsequently created, was part of the Western Reserve, a strip of northeastern Ohio land stretching 120 miles west from the Pennsylvania border, that was claimed by Connecticut. In 1795, Connecticut sold most of that land to the Connecticut Land Company, which then divided it into townships and sold it by auction. Several bidders won the right to purchase what then was known as Township 6, Range 15, with the largest share of almost half of the township going to Aaron Olmsted, a sea captain from East Hartford, Connecticut. However, it took years for the sales to be consummated. Olmsted died in 1806, so when the sale of his land was completed in 1807, it went to his widow and three sons, who sold parts of the land to settlers.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Olmsted Falls.
1902Berea 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 Olmsted Falls.
People over time
Olmsted Falls, census by census
Between 330 and 9,024 people in every census since 1870.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Olmsted Falls’ Wikipedia page.
Famous people
3 famous people were born in Olmsted Falls
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The Olmsted Falls post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Olmsted Falls rank for history?
Olmsted Falls is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #566 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 Olmsted Falls?
5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Grand Pacific Hotel (listed 1975, the first), and 1 historic district, the Gordon Square Historic District, with 20 contributing buildings. 27 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Olmsted Falls?
9% of Olmsted Falls’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (4), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.
2014