Half of Prairie Township’s homes were built after 1970
More historic than 21% of U.S. towns · #906 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Most of Prairie Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1923 on.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Prairie Township is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #906 of 993 in Ohio. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Prairie Township’s overall grade.
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 Prairie Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.4 points).
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 →
What stands out about Prairie Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Prairie Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1923West Columbus 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 Prairie Township.
The story so far
Prairie Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Prairie Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Prairie Township is one of the seventeen townships of Franklin County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 17,415. Prairie Township is on the far west side of Franklin County touching the east side of Madison County.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 16,498 to 17,415 (+6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Prairie Township, 1837 to 1923
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Prairie Township is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #906 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.
How old are the homes in Prairie Township?
7% of Prairie Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1970.
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), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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