Founding year: the first Orwell Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Orwell Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Orwell Township is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #490 of 993 in Ohio. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Orwell 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 Orwell Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.4 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 Orwell 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 Orwell 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 Orwell Township.
A post office called Orwell has been in operation since 1826. The name Orwell is derived from Orwell, Vermont, the native home of an early settler.
Orwell is the location of the King Training Camp, owned by boxing promoter Don King. The facility, housed on State Route 45 South, often features famous boxers as well as up-and-coming fighters under King's promotional umbrella. In May 2006, the KTC hosted former undisputed welterweight champion Cory Spinks as he trained for his comeback fight against another Don King-backed fighter, IBF super welterweight champ Roman Karmazin.
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 Orwell Township post office opened in 1826, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Orwell Township rank for history?
Orwell Township is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #490 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.
How old are the homes in Orwell Township?
24% of Orwell Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.4 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1974.
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 (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
c. 1910
2004