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B−History
History · Whitehall

1 of Whitehall’s places is on the National Register

More historic than 47% of U.S. towns · #693 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Kahiki, The. Most of Whitehall was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1962. Below: maps from 1925 on and the census since 1950.

1on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Sixflashphoto · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

About Whitehall’s history

How historic is Whitehall?

B−

More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Whitehall’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Whitehall is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #693 of 993 in Ohio. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Whitehall’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19408.1% of homes (±2.8) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 1.0 per 10,000 residents · typical OH town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 47%
NewerOlder
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 30%

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 Whitehall’s 1.0 sits near the middle of its state (49% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±2.8 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: our sources. 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 Whitehall’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Whitehall are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19257 editions of the USGS map, 1925 to 1994. Watch Whitehall change.Old housesHalf of Whitehall’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Whitehall’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Whitehall on the map, 1925 to 1994

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

Whitehall on the 1925 USGS mapWhitehall on the 1943 USGS mapWhitehall on the 1955 USGS mapWhitehall on the 1964 USGS mapWhitehall on the 1973 USGS mapWhitehall on the 1985 USGS mapWhitehall on the 1994 USGS map1925East Columbus 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 Whitehall.

The story

How Whitehall came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Whitehall.

Read it all →

In the 1940s and 1950s, Whitehall still had working farms, and it was a mixed-income area with mainly small houses. It was still a village in the 1940s, and residents filed for incorporation in 1947. In 1952, the borders expanded east to the country club and Big Walnut Creek. Rapid growth meant that it became a city during the 1950s. The first shopping center strip in the country was built and opened in Whitehall in 1948, called Casto's Town and Country. The National Road passed through Whitehall.

In August 1970, two department stores in Whitehall were bombed as part of a robbery scheme.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Whitehall, 1925 to 1990

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1925On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1961BuiltKahiki, The is built
  4. 1990Born hereTina Maharath is born here
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the National Register

1 historic place in Whitehall

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1997
Kahiki, The
Kahiki, The, built 1961
Buildings
All 1 listings
Kahiki, TheBuilding · listed 1997

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

People over time

Whitehall, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,0001960198020002020Peak: 25,283

Between 4,377 and 25,283 people in every census since 1950.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Whitehall’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
Big WalnutDoneys
Gone or out of use
Norton Fieldairport

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

Questions about Whitehall’s history

How does Whitehall rank for history?

Whitehall is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #693 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 Whitehall?

One place: the Kahiki, The (listed 1997).

How old are the homes in Whitehall?

8% of Whitehall’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1962.

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 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) 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.