Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 62% of U.S. towns · #523 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Below: maps from 1961 on and old-book passages.
More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Richland Township is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #523 of 993 in Ohio. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Richland Township’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Richland Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Richland Township is one of the twelve townships of Allen County, Ohio, United States. The population at the 2020 census was 5,871.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 6,289 to 5,871 (-7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Richland Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The village of Bluffton, platted in 1837 under the name Shannon, by Joseph Deford, is located on Sections 1 and 12, Richland Township, on the line of the Lake Erie & Western Railroad. The name Shannon was changed to Bluffton in 1872-738, although long prior to this the latter name was bestowed upon it. The original village comprised the four blocks bounded by Jackson and Monroe, Jefferson and Riley, extending
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
On the 25th day of December, 1843, he was* chosen by lot to preach the gospel in Holmes County, and on the 6th day of October, 1857, he was unanimously elected to the office of bishop, in Richland Township, Allen County. Thut and several families came here from Holmes County in 1848 and founded this society. The American Mennonites claim a Digitized by LjOOQIC
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In 1842 George Spangler organized the German Reformed Church Society of Richland Township. John Flint founded the Mennonite Society here in 1848, and in 1849 the Presbyterian Church was founded by Revs. Mr. Holliday and McKinney.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The Commissioners in session, February 28, 1848, ordained the following changes in the township of Allen, consequent on the formation of Auglaize County: The south tier of sections taken from Riley Township is added to Richland Township. The north tier of sections of German Township is added to the south half of Sugar Creek and is organized into a township to be called Sugar Creek, the balance of Carman Township to retain its original name. The south half of Marion and Digitized by LjOOQIC
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Richland Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
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.
Nobody well known was born in Richland Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Richland Township is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #523 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.
35% of Richland Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1959.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (3), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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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