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AHistory
History · Wellington Township

Wellington Township’s post office opened in 1821, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 93% of U.S. towns · #113 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it

6 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1860.

1821first post office
6on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Wellington Township began

When was Wellington Township founded?

1821

The Wellington Township post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1855.

First census: 1,029 in 18602020 census: 6,140205 years

How historic is Wellington Township?

A

More historic than 93% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Wellington Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1855.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Wellington Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wellington Township is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #113 of 993 in Ohio. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wellington Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1821, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194021.9% of homes (±6.3) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register6 listings, 96 historic buildings, 155 per 10,000 residents · typical OH town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 93%
NewerOlder
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 89%

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 Wellington Township’s 155 sits above most of its state (95% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 96 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1855.

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 →

What stands out about Wellington 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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19043 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1973. Watch Wellington Township change.Landmarks on the Register6 places on the National Register.Deep rootsA post office since 1821: 205 years of Wellington Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wellington Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wellington Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewSidney Sardus Warner: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Wellington Township on the map, 1904 to 1973

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Wellington Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Wellington Township on the 1904 USGS mapWellington Township on the 1960 USGS mapWellington Township on the 1973 USGS map1904Wellington 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 Wellington Township.

On the National Register

6 listings protect 96 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
96
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Gunn House
Gunn HouseMosher HouseSprague House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Wright, Frank Lloyd1
Gunn HouseBuilding
Mosher HouseWright, Frank Lloyd
Sprague HouseBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Wellington Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wellington Township.

Read it all →

The rights to naming the village were given as a reward for how much road could be contracted to build. The original winner of the contest picked the name "Charlemont", to near universal disdain. The rights to name the town then went to William Welling, who chose the name "Wellington", either after himself or the Duke of Wellington. Wellington was incorporated as a village in 1855.

In 1858, the former American House Hotel (later torn down and replaced by Herrick Memorial Library) was the site of the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue. A group of men, both white and black and many from Oberlin, swarmed the hotel to rescue runaway slave John Price. He was being held by a US Marshal and his men, who intended to return him to his master in Kentucky.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wellington Township, 1904 to 1912

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1908In the archiveSidney Sardus Warner
  4. 1912In the archiveThe Spirit of 76
By decade

Wellington Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s4 items
Sidney Sardus Warner1908Sidney Sardus WarnerThe Spirit of 761912The Spirit of 76The Spirit of 761912The Spirit of 76Spirit of 76 Herrick Memorial Library1916Spirit of 76 Herrick Memorial Library
1920s–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
Today8 recent
Map of Lorain County Ohio Highlighting Wellington Village2015Map of Lorain County Ohio Highlighting Wellington Vil…MapSouth Main houses in2013South Main houses inOld St Patrick's2013Old St Patrick'sNew St Patrick's in2013New St Patrick's inWellington, Ohio2012Wellington, OhioWellington HerrickMemLibrary Dscn17462008Wellington HerrickMemLibrary Dscn1746A multi-use path at the Wellington Reservation of the Lorain County Metro Parks2007A multi-use path at the Wellington Reservation of the…OHMap-doton-Wellington2004OHMap-doton-Wellington
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.

Sidney Sardus Warner
Retake this viewSidney Sardus Warner, 1908

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Wellington Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,000190019502000Peak: 4,802

Between 1,029 and 4,802 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Wellington Township’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Smith's Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Reader-Botsford Airportairport

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Huntington Township19 historic placesAWellington3 historic placesABrighton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPittsfield Township1 historic placeA−Penfield TownshipIts storyB

Questions about Wellington Township’s history

What year was Wellington Township founded?

The Wellington Township post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1855.

How does Wellington Township rank for history?

Wellington Township is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #113 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 Wellington Township?

6 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Gunn House (listed 1979, the first). 96 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Wellington Township?

22% of Wellington Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1975.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.