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AHistory
History · Washington Township

36% of Washington Township’s homes were built before 1940

More historic than 89% of U.S. towns · #167 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: maps from 1901 on and old-book passages.

2on the National Register
36%homes built before 1940
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

About Washington Township’s history

How historic is Washington Township?

A

More historic than 89% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives Washington Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Washington Township is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #167 of 993 in Ohio. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Washington Township’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 89%
NewerOlder
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 83%

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 Washington Township’s 4.7 sits near the middle of its state (63% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±6.0 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 Washington Township’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 Washington Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
The story so far

Washington Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Washington Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Washington Township is one of the seventeen townships of Hancock County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,353.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 4,440 in 2010, 4,353 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Washington Township in 1881

Passages that mention Washington Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Commissioners necessary, they have set off the original township two north, in range twelve east, which shall be a body corporate and politic, and known by the name of Washington Township." This township was named in honor of the " Father of his country," and is situate in the north-east corner of …
History of Hancock county [Ohio] from its earliest settlement to the present time, together with remeiniscenses of pioneer life, incidents, statistical tables, and biographical sketches1881 · page 457Read the page →
Read the text

Commissioners necessary, they have set off the original township two north, in range twelve east, which shall be a body corporate and politic, and known by the name of Washington Township." This township was named in honor of the " Father of his country," and is situate in the north-east corner of the county, and is bounded on the north by Wood County, on the east by Seneca County, on the south by Big Lick Town-

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.

By decade

Washington Township, decade by decade

On the map

Washington Township on the map, 1901 to 1986

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

Washington Township on the 1901 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1986 USGS map1901Fostoria 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 Washington Township.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Washington Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Washington Township

Nobody well known was born in Washington Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Diebleys Airportairport
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Washington Township
ArkMemory GardensWells Family

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 Washington Township’s history

How does Washington Township rank for history?

Washington Township is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #167 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 Washington Township?

36% of Washington Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1958.

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), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.