The West Jefferson post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, New Hampton (1830), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 436 in 18502020 census: 4,137193 years
How historic is West Jefferson?
B−
More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first West Jefferson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives West Jefferson’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West Jefferson is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #676 of 993 in Ohio. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of West Jefferson’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 West Jefferson’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 West Jefferson’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of West Jefferson. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1907London 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 West Jefferson.
Timeline
West Jefferson, 1830 to 1929
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
West Jefferson, founded by Isaac Jones, was originally called New Hampton (founded by Samuel Jones and Samuel Sexton). The current name was platted c. 1831. A post office called West Jefferson has been in operation since 1833. In the same year, the town of "Jefferson" (later changed to avoid confusion with Jefferson, Ohio) was first documented and established. The village was established on April 24, 1834.
Passages that mention West Jefferson, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Madison County, Ohio1915 · page 551Read the page →
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Among the small farms in the West Jefferson neighborhood of Madison county, few are kept up in better shape or are managed with better skill than that belonging to Grant Timmons, a well-known farmer living one and three-fourths miles southwest of the village of West Jefferson. Mr. Timmons is alive to modern progress in the agricultural field and keeps fully abreast of the latest methods of up-to-date farming, with the result that he is doing well and is regarded as a substantial farmer and an excellent citizen.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Madison County Ohio1915 · page 551Read the page →
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Among the small farms in ‘the West Jefferson neighborhood of Nadivon county, few are kept up in better shape or are managed with better skill than that belonging to Grant Timmons, a well-known farmer living one and three-fourths miles southwest of the village of West Jefferson. Mr. Timmons is alive to modern progress in the agricultural field and keeps fully abreast of the latest methods of up-to-date farming, with the result that he is doing weil and is regarded as a substantial farmer and an excellent citizen. ah Grant Timmons was born on a farm in Jefferson township, Madison county. Ohio,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Madison County Ohio1915 · page 551Read the page →
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Among the small farms in the West Jefferson neighborhood of Madison county, few are kept up in better shape .or are managed with better skill than that belonging to Grant Timmons, a well-known farmer living one and three-fourths miles southwest of the village of West Jefferson. Mr. Timmons is alive to modem progress in the agricultural field and keeps fully abreast of the latest methods of up-to-date fanning, with the result that he is doing well and is regarded as a substantial farmer and an excellent citizen.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Madison County, Ohio1915 · page 935Read the page →
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of his chosen profession in the village of Alton, in Franklin county, this state, and after spending four years there moved over the line into Madison county, locating at West Jefferson, where he ever since has been successfully engaged in practice. It was in 1905 that Doctor Evans located at West Jefferson and since that time he has established himself very firmly in the good graces and affections of the people with whom he has thus been thrown in such intimate relations.
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.
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.
The West Jefferson post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does West Jefferson rank for history?
West Jefferson is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #676 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.
How old are the homes in West Jefferson?
10% of West Jefferson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1967.
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 (5), 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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