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AHistory
History · Port Clinton

Port Clinton dates to 1828, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 91% of U.S. towns · #140 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it

5 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1850.

1828founded
5on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Port Clinton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Port Clinton began

When was Port Clinton founded?

1828

Port Clinton dates its founding to 1828 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 249 in 18502020 census: 6,025198 years

How historic is Port Clinton?

A

More historic than 91% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1840.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Port Clinton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Port Clinton is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #140 of 993 in Ohio. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Port Clinton’s overall grade.
Founding era1828, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194031.0% of homes (±5.5) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register5 listings, 6 historic buildings, 10.1 per 10,000 residents · typical OH town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 91%
NewerOlder
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 86%

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 Port Clinton’s 10.1 sits above most of its state (74% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% 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 (±5.5 points). Two sources give 1828.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Port Clinton’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1916, drew every building in Port Clinton.On the map since 19013 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1969. Watch Port Clinton change.A town in postcards12 old photos, postcards and papers.Deep rootsEstablished in 1828: 198 years of Port Clinton.
★ What stands out · Every building

Port Clinton, building by building, 1884–1916

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Port Clinton fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the map

Port Clinton on the map, 1901 to 1969

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Port Clinton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Port Clinton on the 1901 USGS mapPort Clinton on the 1959 USGS mapPort Clinton on the 1969 USGS map1901Put-In-Bay 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 Port Clinton.

By decade

Port Clinton, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s8 items
FMIB 33489 Carp Ponds in Lake Erie Region1903FMIB 33489 Carp Ponds in Lake Erie RegionFMIB 33501 Carp Ponds in Lake Erie Region1903FMIB 33501 Carp Ponds in Lake Erie RegionFMIB 33521 Carp Ponds in Lake Erie Region1903FMIB 33521 Carp Ponds in Lake Erie RegionFMIB 33728 Diagrammatic Plan of Carp Pond Near1904FMIB 33728 Diagrammatic Plan of Carp Pond NearMapPort Clinton, Ohio. Winos Point Club House1908Port Clinton, Ohio. Winos Point Club HousePostcardPort Clinton, Ohio. Winos Point Club House1908Port Clinton, Ohio. Winos Point Club HousePostcardPublic Schools1908Public SchoolsPostcardPublic Schools1908Public SchoolsPostcard
1910s4 items
Port Clinton, Ohio, Public School Buildings1911Port Clinton, Ohio, Public School BuildingsPostcardPort Clinton, Ohio, Public School Buildings1911Port Clinton, Ohio, Public School BuildingsPostcardChristening of DETROIT1912Christening of DETROITChristening of "Detroit," transatlantic motorboat designed, built and copyrighted by Matthews Boat Co. Port Clinton, Oh…1912Christening of "Detroit," transatlantic motorboat des…
1920s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
The story

How Port Clinton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Port Clinton.

Read it all →

Established in 1828, the town was named after New York governor DeWitt Clinton, who was instrumental in creating the Erie Canal, which connected the Midwest along the Great Lakes to the markets of the Hudson River and New York.

The city saw small population growth throughout 19th century, with a population of 1,600 in 1880 and 2,049 residents in 1890. By 1886, Port Clinton contained three newspaper offices, four churches, and one bank. Several manufacturing businesses existed in the town, with the largest being A. Couche & Company, a sawmill that employed ten workers. Most businesses provided services or products to farmers in the surrounding countryside.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Port Clinton, 1828 to 1954

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1828
    FoundingPort Clinton is established
  3. 1840Post officeThe Port Clinton post office opens
  4. 1884Born hereBoyd Marshall is born here
  5. 1890Born hereGeorge E. Boysen is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1903In the archiveFMIB 33489 Carp Ponds in Lake Erie Region
  9. 1911In the archivePort Clinton, Ohio, Public School Buildings
  10. 1954Born hereSteve Arndt is born here
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

FMIB 33489 Carp Ponds in Lake Erie Region
Retake this viewFMIB 33489 Carp Ponds in Lake Erie Region, 1903

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Port Clinton’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

5 historic places in Port Clinton

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Ottawa County Courthouse
Ottawa County CourthouseGill-Luchsinger-Bahnsen House and BarnSt. Thomas Episcopal ChurchPort Clinton City HallIsland House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Italianate2
Richardsonian Romanesque1
Greek Revival1
Late Victorian1
Gothic Revival1
Neo-Classical Revival1
Ottawa County CourthouseRichardsonian Romanesque
Gill-Luchsinger-Bahnsen House and BarnGreek Revival
St. Thomas Episcopal ChurchLate Victorian
Port Clinton City HallNeo-Classical Revival
Island HouseItalianate

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Port Clinton, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,0001850190019502000Peak: 7,229

Between 249 and 7,229 people in every census since 1850.

17 censuses, 1850–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Port Clinton’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Port Clinton

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Boyd MarshallAmerican actor · b. 1884
G
George E. BoysenAmerican politician · b. 1890
S
Steve ArndtAmerican politician · b. 1954
Help out

Finish Port Clinton’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFMIB 33489 Carp Ponds in Lake Erie Regi…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Portage TownshipIts storyCBay TownshipIts storyC−Erie TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Port Clinton’s history

What year was Port Clinton founded?

In 1828, according to Wikidata. Port Clinton’s post office opened in 1840, and the census of 1850 counted 249 people here.

How does Port Clinton rank for history?

Port Clinton is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #140 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.

What is on the National Register in Port Clinton?

5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Ottawa County Courthouse (listed 1974, the first). 6 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Port Clinton?

31% of Port Clinton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1960.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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 (11), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.