Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 79% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Hosford House. Below: maps from 1913 on and old-book passages.
More historic than 79% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Polk Township is more historic than 79% 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 Polk Township’s 6.4 sits above most of its state (68% 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 Polk Township’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Polk Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Polk Township.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Polk Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Polk Township is one of the sixteen townships of Crawford County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 1,974.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,132 to 1,974 (-7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Polk Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
and gave much of his time and influence toward the erection of the fii-st public editice that was deLlicated to God in Galion. Ho erected the first saw-mill in Polk Township or near vicinity of Galion. James Nail had erected a saw-mill at a much earlier date, but, as neaias can be determined, it was just without the present south line of Polk Township. Sir. Euhl's
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The first grist-mill in Polk Township was erected by Mr. Hibner, on the banks of the Olentangy, near the railroad bridge, on the farm now owned by Mr. Bm-gener. A sawmill was built north of Gallon ; Hosford's and Park's grist-mills and Sharrock's gi'ist and saw mill were all within a few miles of each other, and run by the waters of the Olentangy,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The soil of Polk Township is eminently adapted to the raising of corn, although excellent wheat crops are harvested. The farther west in the township the more it is adapted to grazing and crops of grasses; stock can be kept better nowhere than on the plains and prairies which commence in Polk Township and extend for miles westward.
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.
Nobody well known was born in Polk Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
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.
Polk Township is more historic than 79% 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.
One place: the Hosford House (listed 1976).
23% of Polk Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±12.3 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 (4), the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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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