Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 75% of U.S. towns · #363 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Most of Waterville was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1956 on, and the census since 1880.
The Waterville post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1830.
More historic than 75% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Waterville is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #363 of 993 in Ohio. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls 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 Waterville’s 24.9 sits above most of its state (82% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 15 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). 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 country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archiveRoche de Boeuf, Waterville, Ohio (approximately 1879) - DPLA - b7ff417ccea6653bb4f77c2b64…
In the archiveBoat on the Miami and Erie Canal, Waterville, Ohio (approximately 1880) - DPLA - 85a7a295…
Born hereLucky Wright is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereAndrea L. Hertzfeld is born hereFrom Wikipedia’s history of Waterville.
Waterville was platted in 1830 by settler John Pray on the west bank of the upper Maumee River opposite what was then known as Pray's Falls, a rapids on that stream. A post office called Waterville has been in operation since 1828.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Waterville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The Village of Waterville was platted in February, 1830, and now stands as the second existing plat in Lucas County, that of Maumee City only antedating it, having been recorded in 1818. The original Port Lawrence platted in 1817, was the first in the County, but was subsequently abandoned and vacated. Waterville was platted l\y John Pray, and is located on the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The Township of Waterville, formerly embraced in Waynesfield, was set off in 1831. It lies in the Southwesterly part of Lucas County.
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.
2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1879Roche de Boeuf, Waterville, Ohio (approximately 1879)…1880Boat on the Miami and Erie Canal, Waterville, Ohio (a…
1880Miami and Erie Canal, Waterville, Ohio (approximately…
1880Turkey Foot Rock, Waterville, Ohio (approximately 188…
1880Turkey Foot Rock, Waterville, Ohio (approximately 188…
1888Miami and Erie Canal, Waterville, Ohio, 1888 - DPLA -…Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Waterville. 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 Waterville.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Waterville’s page.
Retake this view · +15Grew from 382 people in 1880 to 6,003 in 2020, more than tenfold.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Waterville’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Waterville post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1830.
Waterville is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #363 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.
9 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Columbian House (listed 1969, the first), 2 historic districts, the Waterville Commercial District and the John Isham Farmstead, with 9 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 15 historic buildings in all.
7% of Waterville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1992.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (9), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
