Wellsville dates to 1797, and 53% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 93% of U.S. towns · #99 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Episcopal Church of the Ascension and Manse. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1830.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1824.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Wellsville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wellsville is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #99 of 993 in Ohio. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wellsville’s overall grade.
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 Wellsville’s 9.8 sits above most of its state (74% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1797.
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 (±9.3 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Wellsville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1770, George Washington, accompanied by his friend and personal surveyor William Crawford, embarked on a journey down the Ohio River from Pittsburgh to inspect lands designated for apportionment to soldiers who had served in the French and Indian War. They are reported to have surveyed the Wellsville area, just north of Yellow Creek, and Washington noted in his journal that it was good bottomland. In 1774, the Yellow Creek massacre occurred near Wellsville when a group of Virginian settlers killed the relatives of prominent Mingo leader Logan, who was camped on Yellow Creek. Logan took revenge, resulting in Lord Dunmore's War.
Wellsville is an important station on the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad, which at this point has a branch line reaching from Wellsville to Wheeling, W. Va. The village contains seven churches, three hotels, a large pottery, the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad car-shops, ironfoundries, a terra-cotta works and minor manufactories, a weekly newspaper, and a large number of stores of various kinds, of which some are large and well-appointed business
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Columbiana County, Ohio1905 · page 348Read the page →
Read the text
Ransom. In 1864 C. E. Gorham removed from Wellsville, and John Thomas, having located in Wellsville, as superintendent of the Cleveland & Pittsburg Railroad, was chosen to fill the vacancy thus caused, and during the years that Mr. Thomas remained in Wellsville he continued to be one of the main-stays of the little church. In 1869 and 1870 a church edifice
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
ness at a public crossroad now within the limits of the town of Wellsville. In 1819 he made a purchase in the town of East Liverpool, and removed his store to that place, being
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Columbiana County, Ohio1905 · page 73Read the page →
Read the text
One of these old routes still remains up to the present (1905), proving the claim of Lisbon and Wellsville to the oldest daily mail and passenger route in the county. The old daily stage line established by Street, Wells and others, between Wellsville and the lake in 1833, still runs out over the hills from Wellsville to Lisbon, the “daily hack,” carrying the mails
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
Wellsville, 1797 to 1937
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1797, according to Wikidata. Wellsville’s post office opened in 1824, and the census of 1830 counted 169 people here.
How does Wellsville rank for history?
Wellsville is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #99 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 Wellsville?
One place: the Episcopal Church of the Ascension and Manse (listed 1986).
How old are the homes in Wellsville?
53% of Wellsville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.3 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 (1), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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