On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Richland Township is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #313 of 993 in Ohio. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Richland 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 Richland Township’s 8.5 sits above most of its state (72% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±6.5 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 Richland 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
Another post office, Melvin, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Reesville
1858–today
Melvin
1885–1957
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
MelvinPowderlickReesville
Gone or out of use
Locust Grove SchoolschoolLone Elm SchoolschoolMelvin Post Officepost officePowderlick SchoolschoolSchool Number 4schoolSnider Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Richland Township
DoanRichland MethodistSpurgeonWade
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Richland Township on the map, 1917 to 1974
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Richland Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1917Sabina 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 Richland Township.
Passages that mention Richland Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Clinton County, Ohio1882 · page 740Read the page →
Read the text
Thompson Douglass, of Richland Township, taught school in this house more than forty years ago. In 1833, there was a log schoolhouse built on the hill not far from Anderson’s Fork, on the Constant land. The land now belongs to W. F. McKay. This was known as the Constant District. Jesse Wain was the first teacher. Criswell Haws, John Constant, William Johnson and A. S.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Clinton County, Ohio1882 · page 760Read the page →
Read the text
Joseph Roberds, a Pennsylvanian, emigrated from South Carolina to Clinton County, in 1805, and in 1818 moved into Richland Township, locating in the Posey Survey, about a quarter of a mile east of the Hogue Schoolhouse, where he bought land of one Batton, who had bought out Levi Arnold.
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.
Timeline
Richland Township, 1858 to 1957
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Richland Township is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #313 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 Richland Township?
19% of Richland Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1959.
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), Wikipedia, 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 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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