More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #885 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Most of Wheelersburg was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: maps from 1926 on and old-book passages.
Founding year: the first Wheelersburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Wheelersburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wheelersburg is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #885 of 993 in Ohio. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wheelersburg’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 Wheelersburg’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 C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.4 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 Wheelersburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wheelersburg was originally called Concord, and under the latter name was platted in 1824. The present name honors Major Porter Wheeler, a pioneer settler. By 1833, Wheelersburg had about 150 inhabitants. A post office called Wheelersburgh was established in 1879, and the name was changed to Wheelersburg in 1893.
In 1968, the town was devastated by an F5 tornado that killed seven people and injured 93. Golf and baseball sized hail, along with heavy rainstorms, and winds resulted in 550 homes being damaged. The damage to Scioto County was estimated to be $2,000,000.
Passages that mention Wheelersburg, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of Scioto County, Ohio,1903 · page 1127Read the page →
Read the text
He taught in the public schools of the county from 1867 until 1891, a greater part of the time at Wheelersburg and Sciotoville. In 1874, he was elected to the office of Justice of the Peace in Porter township and continued in the Justice’s office at Wheelersburg and Sciotoville until December 31, 1897, when he was appointed postmaster at Sciotoville. He was reappointed January,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
history of scioto county, ohio, together with a pioneer record of southern ohio1903 · page 1127Read the page →
Read the text
He taught in the public schools of the county from 1867 until 1891, a greater part of the time at Wheelersburg and Sciotoville. In 1874, he was elected to the office of Justice of the Peace in Porter township and continued in the Justice’s office at Wheelersburg and Sciotoville until December 31, 1897, when he was merited postmaster at Sciotoville, He was reappointed January,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
history of scioto county, ohio, together with a pioneer record of southern ohio1903 · page 391Read the page →
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The first school house in Wheelersburg was built in 1822 and John Young was the first teacher. When the township system of schools was inaugurated, Wheelersburg was sub-district No. 6 of Porter Township. Jesse Y.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of Scioto County, Ohio,1903 · page 1180Read the page →
Read the text
the Revolutionary soldier. His mother’s maiden name was Sarah Burt. His boyhood and youth were spent at Wheelersburg where he received a common school education and worked on the farm. He lived in Wheelersburg until 1861 He enlisted in Company E. 33d O. V. I., September 3, 1861, for three years and was mustered out October 17, 1864. After his return from the army, he began public contracting. He did turnpike work from 1868 until 1871. He built the turnpike from Harrisonville to Sciotoville. He was employed for ten years or more in contract work, bridge masonry in this county. For five years
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
Wheelersburg, 1841 to 1934
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Wheelersburg post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Wheelersburg rank for history?
Wheelersburg is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #885 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 Wheelersburg?
8% of Wheelersburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 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.
