Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: old-book passages.
The Seaman post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Seman (1883), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
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 Seaman’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Seaman.
Seaman was laid out in 1888 when the railroad was extended to that point. The Cincinnati & Eastern Railroad today is the Cincinnati Eastern Railroad (CCET). The village was named after the local Seaman family.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Seaman, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Seaman— This village was laid out after the extension of the Cincinnati and Eastern, now called the Cincinnati, Portsmouth and Virginia Railroad, from Winchester to Portsmouth. It is one of the new and thriving villages that have sprung up along the line of that railroad. It was laid out on the lands of Mrs. Ann Mower in 1888. A postc^ce was established in 1880 with A. Day first postmaster. The first stone in the place was kept by J. Q. Roads. It now contains two dry goods stores, one hardware and implement store, one millinery shop, two blacksmith
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
which is the very best in the township. It is bountifully supplied with running water and everything about the place indicates that the owner is a man of enteirprise and progress. They lived on this farm from 1869 until 1896, when they purchased a home in the village of Seaman, which they remodeled and beautified and reside there in great comfort Mr. Allison owns another farm of one hundred and eighty acres in Oliver Township.
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Seaman’s post office has been open since 1897. Another post office, Seman, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Seaman post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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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