Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The Waterford post office opened in 1811, the earliest record of the town by name.
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 Waterford’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Waterford.
Waterford was established under the name of Millburg by the Ohio Company in spring, 1789. A post office called Waterford has been in operation since 1811. The name may be derived from Waterford, Massachusetts.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Waterford. 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 Waterford.
Passages that mention Waterford, cut from the printed page as they were published.
1806, Watertown, then W'c-oster. included only the fourth township df the tenth range. The commissioners at a subserpaent meetingset off of Waterford and attached to Wooster that part of the town of Waterford lying in the third township of the tenth range, and the eleventh range, and so much of the eighth township of the eleventh range as lies south
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
etta are rich, thickly settled and well cultivated. At a distance of twelve miles is the town of Adams, and twenty-three miles, by water, is the town of Waterford, within the purchase of the Ohio Company. At a small distance above this purchase, the bottom lands are narrow, and the hills are many of them steep, tufted with pine, for about thirty miles. They then
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Methodist meeting was held in the vicinity of Waterford soon after the establishment of the church in this county in 1800. Methodism at Waterford, as at Marietta, was at first unpopular, but vigorous preaching and untiring missionary work soon prepared the people for the organization of a class. The first meeting-house in this part of the county was on the west branch of Wolf creek, in Watertown township. Waterford was a preach-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Watertown for a long time was dependent entirely upon her neighbors for medical service in cases of sickness. Dr. Baker, Dr. Dergy, and Dr. Pardee, were called from Waterford during the early years of the settlement, and later Dr. Seymour, of Waterford, and Dr. Hildreth, of Marietta, were the medical counselors. Dr.
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.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Waterford post office opened in 1811, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.
