Put-in-Bay’s post office opened in 1860, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Jay Cooke House, a National Historic Landmark.
How Put-in-Bay began
When was Put-in-Bay founded?
The Put-in-Bay post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name.
3 historic places in Put-in-Bay
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
Architectural styles listings
★ Landmark
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Questions about Put-in-Bay’s history
What year was Put-in-Bay founded?
The Put-in-Bay post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What is on the National Register in Put-in-Bay?
Three places: the Jay Cooke House (listed 1966), the Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial (1966) and the Inselruhe (1976).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.