Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 44% of U.S. towns · #720 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Most of Wadsworth Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1880.
Wadsworth Township dates its founding to 1814 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.
More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wadsworth Township is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #720 of 993 in Ohio. Its age 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 Wadsworth 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.
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 →
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 Wadsworth Township’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Wadsworth Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Wadsworth Township.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyFrom Wikipedia’s history of Wadsworth Township.
A post office called Wadsworth has been in operation since 1823.
In 1964, Wadsworth withdrew from Wadsworth Township by forming a paper township. The paper township originally went unnamed. In 2003, it was named Pardee Township, after Aaron Pardee, the first mayor of Wadsworth.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Wadsworth Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
from Ireland, when yet in her childhood, and thence to.Medina Co., a short time previous to her marriage. Mr. Frizzell first settled in Wadsworth Township, but, in the spring of 1837, he moved to where he now lives, the farm at that time being mostly forest land.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The coal measures cover three-fourths of Wadsworth Township, which is the extreme southeasterly one in the county. By careful estimation it is thought that the workable coal extends over 450 acres in the township. Drilling has been done very generally over the coal territory, and basins of excellent coal found and mapped out, but insufficient railroad facilities
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.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Wadsworth Township’s page.
Retake this view · +15Grew from 1,219 people in 1880 to 24,007 in 2020, more than tenfold.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Wadsworth Township’s Wikipedia page.
Another post office, Western Star, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1814, according to Wikidata. Wadsworth Township’s post office opened in 1823, and the census of 1880 counted 1,219 people here.
Wadsworth Township is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #720 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.
8% of Wadsworth Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 Wikimedia Commons (2), 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.
Date?
2023