The Providence Township post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Providence (1836), Bailey (1878) and Fancher (1891), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 3,378190 years
How historic is Providence Township?
A−
More historic than 79% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Providence Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Providence Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Providence Township is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #331 of 993 in Ohio. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Providence 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 Providence Township’s 11.8 sits above most of its state (76% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.6 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 Providence Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Providence
1836–1868
Neapolis
1873–today
Bailey
1878–1891
Fancher
1891–1908
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BaileyNeapolisProvidence
Gone or out of use
Bailey Post Officepost officeProvidence Post Officepost office
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Providence Township
Mount PleasantOak HillSaint Patrick
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Providence Township on the map, 1909 to 1971
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Providence Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1909Mc Clure 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 Providence Township.
The village of Providence was founded by a French Canadian, Peter Manor, who was the first white man to settle upriver on the Maumee River away from Lake Erie. He arrived there in 1816 in order to establish a fur trading post for the North West Fur Company, then based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. But the United States prohibited Canadian traders from operating below the border and he was closed down.
In 1822, Manor had a sawmill erected next to the river, and a gristmill was built in 1835. This was about 24 miles from the river's mouth on Maumee Bay, where there was still an Odawa people village, part of a 34-square mile reserve on the south side of the river.
The Providence Township post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Providence Township rank for history?
Providence Township is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #331 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 Providence Township?
Two places: the Ludwig, Isaac R., Historical Mill (listed 1974) and the Providence Historic District (1975).
How old are the homes in Providence Township?
13% of Providence Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.
