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CHistory
History · Walbridge

Walbridge’s post office opened in 1871, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 30% of U.S. towns · #844 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it

Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 1920.

1871first post office
0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How Walbridge began

When was Walbridge founded?

1871

The Walbridge post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 584 in 19202020 census: 3,011155 years

How historic is Walbridge?

C

More historic than 30% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Walbridge post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Walbridge’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Walbridge is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #844 of 993 in Ohio. 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 Walbridge’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 30%
NewerOlder
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 15%

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 Walbridge’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 C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.9 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 Walbridge’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 Walbridge’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Walbridge’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
On the map

Walbridge on the map, 1900 to 1994

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Walbridge. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Walbridge on the 1900 USGS mapWalbridge on the 1935 USGS mapWalbridge on the 1952 USGS mapWalbridge on the 1965 USGS mapWalbridge on the 1980 USGS mapWalbridge on the 1994 USGS map1900Maumee Bay 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 Walbridge.

The story

How Walbridge came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Walbridge.

Read it all →

Walbridge was platted in 1874. A post office called Walbridge has been in operation since 1871. The village was incorporated in 1912.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Walbridge, 1870 to 1900

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Born hereEd Scott is born here
  3. 1871Post officeThe Walbridge post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Walbridge, decade by decade

People over time

Walbridge, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,500192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,208

Between 584 and 3,208 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Walbridge’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Old corners

Walbridge’s post office has been open since 1871.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Deluxe Mobile Home ParkWalnut Hills Mobile Home Park

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Questions about Walbridge’s history

What year was Walbridge founded?

The Walbridge post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Walbridge rank for history?

Walbridge is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #844 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 Walbridge?

12% of Walbridge’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1966.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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 (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.