8 of Washington Township’s places are on the National Register
More historic than 44% of U.S. towns · #717 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Most of Washington Township was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: maps from 1913 on and old-book passages.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Washington Township is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #717 of 993 in Ohio. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Washington 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 Washington Township’s 8.1 sits above most of its state (72% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 51 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% 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 (±0.6 points) is firm at this size.
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.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
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.
A suburb of Dayton, Washington Township is the largest of nine townships of Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. The population was 61,882 at the 2020 census. The township, through the independent Centerville-Washington Park District, contains eight community parks, nine nature parks, and 33 neighborhood parks encompassing 1,000 acres in Centerville and Washington Township.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 56,607 to 61,682 (+9%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Washington Township in 1882
Passages that mention Washington Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Montgomery county, Ohio, containing a history of the county1882 · page 4Read the page →
Read the text
The settlement having been established in Washington Township, were soon others to recognize the fertility and advantages of the place, ai the course of a very few years, many families were located in the vicin: the present town of Centerville.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Montgomery county, Ohio, containing a history of the county1882 · page 8Read the page →
Read the text
One of the first men identified with the manufacturing interests of 1 township was Isaac Harrison, who came to Ohio in 1802, and settled twe miles above Cincinnati. By trade, he was a carder and fuller, and, removi to Washington Township in 1808, he purchased land on Hole’s Creek, n Woodburn, upon which there was a saw mill in operation. This mill he c< tinued to run until he enlisted in the war of 1812. After returning from i war, he, in 1813 or 1814, converted his saw-mill into a carding and full] mill. This was the second mill of the kind in the county, and was operated
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.
Timeline
Washington Township, 1848 to 1913
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Washington Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1913Waynesville 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.
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.
Washington Township is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #717 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.
What is on the National Register in Washington Township?
8 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Watkins House (listed 1974, the first). 51 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Washington Township?
1% of Washington Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (6), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
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