Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 71% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: old-book passages.
The Sullivan post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 71% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sullivan is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns. 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 Sullivan’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: 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 →
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 Sullivan’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Sullivan.
Sullivan was laid out in 1836. A post office called Sullivan has been in operation since 1828, which was closed in the summer of 2015.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Sullivan, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Sullivan is situated in the center of Sullivan township and was laid out in 1836 by Sylvanus Parmely, Ira Parmely, Joseph Palmer and Joseph Carlton, whose lands formed the corners of the center. It has a good school, and is eligibly situated. Its population is mostly from New England. The postoffice bears the name of the village. Its principal support is derived from the neighborhood trade.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
years but in 1886 he gave them up and became connected with the sawmill and lumber enterprise, with which he is still associated. He owns six hundred and seventy acres of fine farm and timber lands in addition to his sawmill property and also possesses business and residence holdings in the village of Sullivan. He has been very successful in his business and his prosperity in the several enterprises in which he is engaged has been such as to rank him among the foremost in the business circles of the county.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
SULLIVAN, situated in the center of Sullivan township, was laid out in 1836 by Sylvanus Parmely, Ira Palmer, Joseph Palmer and Joseph Carlton, whose lands formed the corners of the center. It contains one tavern, one dry goods store, one shoe shop, one grocery, one carriage shop, j one blacksmith shop, one cabinet shop, one harness j shop, one steam saw-mill, four good churches, a good j
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.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Sullivan post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Sullivan is more historic than 71% 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.
32% of Sullivan’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±12.4 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1987.
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 Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people 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.