Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1881.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Silverton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Silverton is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #672 of 993 in Ohio. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Silverton’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 Silverton’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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1809.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Silverton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Formed out of Columbia and Sycamore townships, Silverton had its beginnings in the post-Revolutionary War land grants. In 1809 David Mosner opened a general store at the crossroads of Plainfield Pike and Montgomery Road. For the next several decades the surrounding town was known alternately as "Mosner" or "Enterprise". The Mosner name was formalized in 1861 when a post office opened under that designation.
In 1883 the Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern Railway opened a line through town, connecting the area to Cincinnati by rail. Seth Haines and Robert Cresap platted Silverton's first subdivision shortly thereafter. It is widely accepted that the town was renamed Silverton in honor of Haines' wife, Elizabeth Silver Haines.
Passages that mention Silverton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio1894 · page 393Read the page →
Read the text
Silverton, thirty years ago, consisted of the “Eight Mile House,” a blacksmith shop, and the toll-gate on the Montgomery pike. The site of the village was comprised in a farm owned by Maxwell Brown, who sold a portion of it toS. S. Haines, of Waynesville, Ohio, by whom it was subdivided and sold. The railroad station had previously been established under the name of Mosner, and the post office was opened under that designation August 15, 1881, with S. D. Yorhis as postmaster. The name was changed to Silverton at the instance of Mr. Haines, this having been the maiden name of his wife. Gould & Mason were the first merchants. William Cre-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio1894 · page 393Read the page →
Read the text
Silverton, thirty years ago, consisted of the “Eight Mile House/ ’ a blacksmith shop, and the toll-gate on the Montgomery pike. The site of the village was comprised in a farm owned by Maxwell Brown, who sold a portion of it toS. S. Haines, of Waynesville, Ohio, by whom it was subdivided and sold. The railroad station had previously been established under the name of Mosner, and the post office was opened under that designation August 15, 1881, with S. D. Vorhis as postmaster. The name was changed to Silverton at the instance of Mr. Haines, this having been the maiden name of his wife. Gould & Mason were the first merchants. William Cre-
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
Silverton, 1809 to 1960
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1809, according to Wikidata. Silverton’s post office opened in 1881, and the census of 1910 counted 459 people here.
How does Silverton rank for history?
Silverton is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #672 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 Silverton?
11% of Silverton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 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 (5), 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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