Founding year: the first Whitehouse post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Whitehouse’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Whitehouse is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #826 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 Whitehouse’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 Whitehouse’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 (±9.5 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 Whitehouse’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area now known as the Village of Whitehouse was originally occupied by various Native American tribes, such as the Miami, Ottawa, Shawnee, Wyandot, and Delaware. Settlers of European descent began travelling through the Northwestern Territory after "Mad" Anthony Wayne's victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. Many settlers were of German or Dutch descent in search of farmland. Canal access also attracted many settlers to this particular area. A post office was established as Whitehouse in 1856. Whitehouse was platted in 1864. The village was named for Edward Whitehouse, a railroad official and treasurer of the Wabash Railroad.
The Whitehouse post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Whitehouse rank for history?
Whitehouse is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #826 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 Whitehouse?
14% of Whitehouse’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.5 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1990.
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 (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) 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.
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