On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sunfish Township is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sunfish 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 Sunfish Township’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 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 (±8.3 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 Sunfish 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.
Elm Grove
1871–1984
Arkoe
1884–1913
Hatch
1892–1935
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ArkoeElm GroveHatchPoplar Grove
Gone or out of use
Arkoe Post Officepost officeCrawford SchoolschoolHatch Post Officepost officeHolmes SchoolschoolLaurel Ridge SchoolschoolVictory Schoolschool
10cemeteries and burying grounds inside Sunfish Township
AbbottArkoeChestnutHenryMount ZionMustardOld SmithRussell Number 1Smith HillWhite Oak
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Sunfish Township on the map, 1915 to 1986
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sunfish Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1915Piketon 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 Sunfish Township.
The story so far
Sunfish Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Sunfish Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Sunfish Township is one of the fourteen townships of Pike County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 1,115 people in the township.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,307 to 1,115 (-15%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Sunfish Township, 1871 to 1984
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Sunfish Township is more historic than 24% 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 Sunfish Township?
8% of Sunfish Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.3 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1988.
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 (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.