Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns · #794 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Below: maps from 1914 on and old-book passages.
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Washington Township is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #794 of 993 in Ohio. Its share of homes from before 1940 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 Washington 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: 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 →
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 Washington Township’s history is told.
Another post office, Thatcher, 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).
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Washington 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 Washington Township.
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 fifteen townships of Pickaway County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 2,991 people in the township.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 3,151 to 2,991 (-5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Washington Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The first church organized in Washington Township was Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church. Formed by a minister named Foster in 1808 or 1809, it’s original meeting house was a two-story log building near the junction of Winstead and Ringgold Southern Roads. Zion also had the first cemetery in the township and the first burial was a child of Andrew Leist. St. Paul Evangelical Church was organized in 1830. The original 1849 structure was replaced in 1870 by the current brick building on Ringgold Southern Road.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
106 Patrons — Schools In addition to these two school districts seeking a change at the meeting, a group of Washington Township residents, led by Mr. William Crist, asked that a portion of Washington Township be allowed to transfer to Circleville City. This portion was mainly along Route 22 to Bolender-Pontius Road and included Knollwood Village. Since the county board had previously denied allowing the entire Washington Township to be transferred to Circleville
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.
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 SurveyNobody well known was born in Washington Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Washington Township is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #794 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.
15% of Washington Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.8 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 (1), 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.
2015