The story
Read it all →How Plymouth came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Plymouth.
Plymouth was laid out in 1825. The village was named after Plymouth Rock. Plymouth was incorporated in 1834.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: User:OHWiki · Public domainA+History
History · Plymouth
Plymouth’s post office opened in 1823, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 97% of U.S. towns. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 54 buildings. Below: maps from 1915 on and the census since 1860.
1823first post office
3on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Quick answers
How Plymouth began
When was Plymouth founded?
1823
The Plymouth post office opened in 1823, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 462 in 18602020 census: 1,707203 years
How historic is Plymouth?
A+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 97% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Plymouth post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Plymouth’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Plymouth is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Plymouth’s overall grade.
Founding era1823, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194037.2% of homes (±6.0) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register3 listings, 56 historic buildings, 310 per 10,000 residents · typical OH town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 97%
NewerOlder
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 Plymouth’s 310 sits above most of its state (97% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 56 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.0 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 Plymouth’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 Plymouth are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Plymouth Historic District takes in 54 historic buildings.On the map since 19153 editions of the USGS map, 1915 to 1960. Watch Plymouth change.Old housesHalf of Plymouth’s homes were built before 1953.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Plymouth’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Plymouth’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 National Register
3 listings protect 56 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
56
each building in a district counts
first listed
1996
Plymouth Greenlawn Cemetery Chapel
BuildingsDistricts
Architectural styles listings
Late Victorian1
Second Empire1
Eastlake Style1
All 3 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
On the map
Plymouth on the map, 1915 to 1960
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Plymouth. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1915Crestline 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 Plymouth.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Plymouth in 1880
Passages that mention Plymouth, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Richland County, Ohio1880 · page 726Read the page →
Read the text
to Sandusky. Efforts had been making for some time to get a railroad from Sandusky to Mansfield, and charters therefor had been granted. A charter had been obtained for a railroad from Monroeville to Plymouth. In December, 1839, Judge Patterson and he were appointed to go to Columbus and obtain or have amended a charter for a road from Plymouth to Mansfield, which was accomplished. He, with others, spent the winter
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Richland County, Ohio1880 · page 554Read the page →
Read the text
12, 1818, being then twelve miles long from east to west, and six miles wide. This territory was divided April 3, 1820, the east half retaining the name of Plymouth. December 6, 1849, Cass Township was erected out of the east two-thirds of Plymouth, and the latter extended so as to take in two tiers of sections from Auburn. This reduced Plymouth to four
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
Plymouth, 1823 to 1915
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Plymouth, decade by decade
2012
2012
2011
2011
2011
2004People over time
Plymouth, census by census
Between 462 and 1,993 people in every census since 1860.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Plymouth’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →3 famous people were born in Plymouth
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Questions about Plymouth’s history
What year was Plymouth founded?
The Plymouth post office opened in 1823, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Plymouth rank for history?
Plymouth is more historic than 97% 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.
What is on the National Register in Plymouth?
Three places: the Tubbs-Sourwine House (listed 1999), the Plymouth Greenlawn Cemetery Chapel (1996) and the Plymouth Historic District (2018).
How old are the homes in Plymouth?
37% of Plymouth’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1953.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.