The story
Read it all →How Shreve came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Shreve.
The village has the name of Thomas Shreve, the original owner of the town site.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B+History
History · Shreve
Shreve’s post office opened in 1836, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: old-book passages.
1836first post office
0on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Quick answers
How Shreve began
When was Shreve founded?
1836
The Shreve post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name.
2020 census: 1,497190 years
How historic is Shreve?
B+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 72% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Shreve post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Shreve’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Shreve is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Shreve’s overall grade.
Founding era1836, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194034.4% of homes (±7.1) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%ANational RegisterNo listings counted · typical OH town 2.9 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 72%
NewerOlder
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 Shreve’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.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). 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 Shreve’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Shreve’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Shreve’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Shreve, 1836 to 1910
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1836Post officeThe Shreve post office opens
- 1871
Born hereEdgar Odell Lovett is born here - 20th century
- 1910Born hereCharles Critchfield is born here
From the old history books
What they wrote about Shreve in 1878
Passages that mention Shreve, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Wayne county, Ohio, from the days of the pioneers and the first settlers to the present time1878Read the page →
Read the text
Shreve School. — In 1868 the corporation limit of the village of Shreve was constituted a school district, separately and by itself. An election was held on the ist of May, at the instance of the Board of Education, authorizing them to select grounds and adopt measures to procure funds to construct a school-house. It was resolved that a house be built, and that it be of brick. Bids were received, and on motion of Henry Everly the contract was let to John P. Wise, June 13, at his offer of $788. Edwin Oldroyd was the first teacher occupying the new house. In May, 1867, it was resolved to build a new school-house. After due deliberation contracts
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Wayne county, Ohio, from the days of the pioneers and the first settlers to the present time1878Read the page →
Read the text
Shreve, named after Thomas Shreve, was originally called Clinton Station. It had its beginning and date of existence with the completion of the Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne & Chicago railway, and is one of the most enterprising villages in Wayne county. The north part was laid out by D. Foltz and George Stewart, and the south by Thomas McConkey and D. K. Jones — ten acres on each side — but now has far extended beyond these limits. The first sale of lots took place in March and April, 1853, at private sale, and some dis-
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.
By decade
Shreve, decade by decade
2016
2015
2004Famous people
See all →2 famous people were born in Shreve
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Places that used to be
Old corners
Shreve’s post office has been open since 1836.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Shady Pines Mobile Home Park
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Shreve’s history
What year was Shreve founded?
The Shreve post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Shreve rank for history?
Shreve is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns. 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 Shreve?
34% of Shreve’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1953.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (3), 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.