On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sharon Township is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #53 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 Sharon 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 Sharon Township’s 44.5 sits above most of its state (87% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 40 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% 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 (±5.6 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 Sharon 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.
Hinesville
1874–1906
Vernon Junction
1877–1901
Bethlehem
1887–1895
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BethlehemHinesVernon Junction
Gone or out of use
School Number 1schoolSchool Number 2schoolSchool Number 4schoolSchool Number 5schoolSchool Number 6schoolVernon Junction Post Officepost office
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Sharon Township
ColtmanGerman ReformMyersSacred Heart
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Sharon Township on the map, 1915 to 1982
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sharon Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1915Crestline 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 Sharon Township.
The story so far
Sharon Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Sharon Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Sharon Township is one of the eighteen townships of Richland County, Ohio, United States. It is a part of the Mansfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The 2020 census found 9,006 people in the township.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 9,125 in 2010, 9,006 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Sharon Township in 1880
Passages that mention Sharon Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
history of richland county ohio1880 · page 650Read the page →
Read the text
The township was first settled by white men about 1820, the first settlers generally following the Indian trails across Sharon Township, which soon became public highways. The wave of civilization gradually advanced from Mifflin Township, in the eastern part of the county, in 1809, to Sharon and Vernon, in 1818 and 1820.
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
Sharon Township, 1874 to 1925
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Sharon Township is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #53 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 Sharon Township?
5 listings: 1 building, among them the Sacred Heart of Jesus Churches (listed 1986, the first). 40 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Sharon Township?
28% of Sharon 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 1958.
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), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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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