The story
Read it all →How Pleasantville came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Pleasantville.
Pleasantville was laid out in 1828. A post office has been in operation at Pleasantville since 1828.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Quick answers
How Pleasantville began
When was Pleasantville founded?
1828
The Pleasantville post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Vicksburgh (1826), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 334 in 18802020 census: 934198 years
Founding year: the first Pleasantville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Pleasantville’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 Pleasantville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Pleasantville’s homes were built before 1938.On the map since 19073 editions of the USGS map, 1907 to 1974. Watch Pleasantville change.Deep rootsA post office since 1828: 198 years of Pleasantville.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Pleasantville’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pleasantville’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Pleasantville on the map, 1907 to 1974
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Pleasantville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1907Thurston sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Pleasantville.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Pleasantville in 1912
Passages that mention Pleasantville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Fairfield County, Ohio1912 · page 178Read the page →
Read the text
PLEASANTVILLE Pleasantville is a flourishing village situated on the Toledo and Ohio Central Railroad, lying partly in Pleasant and partly in Walnut Township. It was laid out in 1828 by John Boston, who built the first house or residence in the village. The population, as given by the census of 19 10 is about six hundred. But
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Fairfield County, Ohio1912 · page 530Read the page →
Read the text
nection until 1880, when he had the opportunity of buying the drug store that was then being conducted in the little village of Pleasantville. He had the good judgment that future developments proved reliable, that the then small place would develop into one of importance and in this development Mr. Nickum has been an important
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.
Timeline
Pleasantville, 1818 to 1907
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1818Post officeThe Rushville post office opens
- 1826Post officeThe Vicksburgh post office opens
- 1828Post officeThe Vicksburgh post office closes
- 1828Post officeThe Pleasantville post office opens
- 1876
Born hereCharles J. Hite is born here - 20th century
- 1907
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Pleasantville, decade by decade
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2004People over time
Pleasantville, census by census
Between 334 and 960 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Pleasantville’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices
Pleasantville’s post office has been open since 1828. Another post office, Vicksburgh, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Rushville
Vicksburgh
Pleasantville
18101920today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Pleasantville’s history
What year was Pleasantville founded?
The Pleasantville post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (6), 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), 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.