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History · Willshire

Willshire’s post office opened in 1822, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1960 on and the census since 1850.

1822first post office
0on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How Willshire began

When was Willshire founded?

1822

The Willshire post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 147 in 18502020 census: 405204 years
Founding year: the first Willshire post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Willshire’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 Willshire are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 653 in 1910; 405 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1822: 204 years of Willshire.Old housesHalf of Willshire’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Willshire’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Willshire’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
People over time

Willshire, census by census

01002003004005006007001850190019502000Peak: 653

Peaked at 653 in 1910; 405 people lived here in 2020.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Willshire’s Wikipedia page.

Timeline

Willshire, 1822 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1822Post officeThe Willshire post office opens
  3. 1866Born hereUlysses G. Denman is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 653
  6. 1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Willshire came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Willshire.

Read it all →

Willshire was founded by Captain James Riley in 1822, and is named for the English man who saved him while he was a captive in Africa, William Willshire. A post office has been in operation at Willshire since 1822. Willshire served as the first county seat for Van Wert County.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Willshire, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Willshire-oh12016Willshire-oh1Willshire oh22016Willshire oh2State south of Simpson2015State south of SimpsonMap of Van Wert County Ohio Highlighting Willshire Village2015Map of Van Wert County Ohio Highlighting Willshire Vi…MapWillshire, Ohio downtown2011Willshire, Ohio downtownOHMap-doton-Willshire2004OHMap-doton-Willshire
On the map

Willshire on the map, 1960 to 1986

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

Willshire on the 1960 USGS mapWillshire on the 1986 USGS map1960Willshire sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Willshire.

Questions about Willshire’s history

What year was Willshire founded?

The Willshire post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), 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) 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.