Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 75% of U.S. towns. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: old-book passages.
More historic than 75% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Paxton Township is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
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 Paxton Township’s 5.5 sits above most of its state (65% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: our sources. 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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Paxton Township’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Paxton Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Paxton Township is one of the sixteen townships of Ross County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 1,918 people in the township.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,116 to 1,918 (-9%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Paxton Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Horse SHoe Benp or PAINT CREEK The Horse Shoe Bend of Paint Creek is located two miles east of Bainbridge, in Paxton Township, Ross County, Ohio, and commences at a point where the Seymour Bridge on the Chillicothe and Milford turnpike crosses the same, thence running south for more than a mile where it strikes the little Copperas mountain, which turns the stream east in a slight curve for more than a mile where it strikes the large Copperas
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Until 1895 they resided in Columbus, and then moved to the Wallace Farm in Paxton Township of Ross County. They have lived there ever since and Mr. Schmidt owns 565 acres in Ross and Pike counties. He keeps high grade livestock and does everything on his farm in a very progressive and efficient manner.
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.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Paxton Township is more historic than 75% 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.
21% of Paxton Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.2 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1981.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (6), 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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