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B−History
History · Washington Township

1 of Washington Township’s places is on the National Register

More historic than 51% of U.S. towns · #649 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it

Most of Washington Township was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1914 on, and old-book passages.

1on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Washington Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About Washington Township’s history

How historic is Washington Township?

B−

More historic than 51% 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 51% of U.S. towns, #649 of 993 in Ohio. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Washington Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19409.7% of homes (±6.4) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register1 listing, 3.5 per 10,000 residents · typical OH town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 51%
NewerOlder
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 35%

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 3.5 sits near the middle of its state (58% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±6.4 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.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Washington Township, and 4 old place names are still on the map.A National Historic Landmark1 place on the National Register, including Fort Ancient, a National Historic Landmark.On the map since 19145 editions of the USGS map, 1914 to 1996. Watch Washington Township change.
★ 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
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewStubbs Earthworks aerial view: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Mill Grove, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mill Grove
1832–1845
Oregon
1846–today
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Mathers MillsOregoniaSeniorUsrey Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Gum Grove SchoolschoolHagemeyer AirportairportOak Grove SchoolschoolOlive Branch SchoolschoolSilver Grove SchoolschoolSpring Hill Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Washington Township
Olive BranchUnionWilkerson

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

On the National Register

1 historic place in Washington Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmark
1
Fort Ancient
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1966
Fort Ancient
Fort Ancient★
Sites★ landmark
★ Landmark
Fort AncientSite

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.

Washington Township is one of the eleven townships of Warren County, Ohio, United States. Located in the east-central part of the county, it is the only one of the eleven that does not contain a municipality. The population was 2,752 at the 2020 census.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 2,717 in 2010, 2,752 in 2020.

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.

On account of the eventful career of W m. Smalley, and the fact that he was the first settler of Washington Township and played a prominent part in the history of its settlement, we give him this extended notice. Opinions differ as to the date and place of his birth, but the most probable account o…
The History of Warren County, Ohio1882 · page 697Read the page →
Read the text

On account of the eventful career of W m. Smalley, and the fact that he was the first settler of Washington Township and played a prominent part in the history of its settlement, we give him this extended notice. Opinions differ as to the date and place of his birth, but the most probable account obtained by much research, is, that he was bom in New Jersey about the year 1759 or 1760, and lived with his father’s family in that State until 1764, when they moved to Western Pennsylvania, where a number of families had settled near Fort Pitt (now Pittsburgh). When the time came for planting

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Washington Township was organized in 1818, a part of Salem Township. A part of the territoi at its organization was afterward taken off the Township, and a part from the south to form Harli regular square, containing, in 1881, 21,030.73 acres The first election was held at William Trotter’ road, ab…
The History of Warren County, Ohio1882 · page 698Read the page →
Read the text

Washington Township was organized in 1818, a part of Salem Township. A part of the territoi at its organization was afterward taken off the Township, and a part from the south to form Harli regular square, containing, in 1881, 21,030.73 acres The first election was held at William Trotter’ road, about one and a half miles east of the Little I June, 1818, and resulted in the election of the folk

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, 1832 to 1964

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1832Post officeThe Mill Grove post office opens
  3. 1845Post officeThe Mill Grove post office closes
  4. 1846Post officeThe Oregon post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1914On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1951In the archiveStubbs Earthworks aerial view
  8. 1964LandmarkFort Ancient named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Washington Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1950s1 item
Stubbs Earthworks aerial view1951Stubbs Earthworks aerial view
1960s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today10 recent
Washington Township, OH, USA - panoramio (3)2015Washington Township, OH, USA - panoramio (3)Washington Township, OH, USA - panoramio (2)2015Washington Township, OH, USA - panoramio (2)Washington Township, OH, USA - panoramio (1)2015Washington Township, OH, USA - panoramio (1)Map of Warren County Ohio Highlighting Washington Township2015Map of Warren County Ohio Highlighting Washington Tow…MapStubbs Earthworks at Little Miami High School2013Stubbs Earthworks at Little Miami High SchoolFt. Ancient2012Ft. AncientFt. Ancient2012Ft. AncientOHMap-doton-Oregonia2007OHMap-doton-OregoniaOHMap-doton-Hammel and Millgrove2007OHMap-doton-Hammel and MillgroveFort ancient main trail 20062006Fort ancient main trail 2006
On the map

Washington Township on the map, 1914 to 1996

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 1914 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1955 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1968 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1974 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1996 USGS map1914Morrow 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.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Stubbs Earthworks aerial view
Retake this viewStubbs Earthworks aerial view, 1951

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Washington Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Turtlecreek Township2 historic placesBSalem TownshipIts storyCMassie Township2 historic placesAHarlan TownshipIts storyCWayne Township7 historic placesAVernon Township2 historic placesB+

Questions about Washington Township’s history

How does Washington Township rank for history?

Washington Township is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #649 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?

One place: the Fort Ancient (listed 1966).

How old are the homes in Washington Township?

10% of Washington Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.4 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1998.

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 (11), the National Register of Historic Places (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.