Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 87% of U.S. towns · #193 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
11 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 59 buildings between them. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1810.
Wooster dates its founding to 1808 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1810.
More historic than 87% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wooster is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #193 of 993 in Ohio. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
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 Wooster’s 25.2 sits above most of its state (83% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 68 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wooster’s post office has been open since 1812. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wooster’s history is told.
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.
1884Sheet 1 of 4Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From Wikipedia’s history of Wooster.
Wooster was established in 1808 by John Bever, William Henry, and Joseph Larwill and named after David Wooster, a general in the American Revolutionary War.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Wooster, cut from the printed page as they were published.
June 18, 1856, the Council of the incorporated village of Wooster passed an ordinance “To provide for lighting the incorporated village of Wooster with gas,’ by which it was provided that William Stephenson, of the city of Cleveland, and his associates, their successors, and asignees, should use the streets, lanes, alleys, and other public grounds of Said village, for the purpose of.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
June i8, 1856, the Council of the incorporated village of Wooster passed an ordinance "To provide for lighting the incorporated village of Wooster with gas," by which it was provided that William Stephenson, of the city of Cleveland, and his associates, their successors, and asignees, should use the streets, lanes, alleys, and other public grounds of said village, for the purpose of laying down and maintaining therein pipes for the conveyance of gas in and through the same for the use of said village and the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Clear creek and Christmas run rise in Wayne township and flow south, forming junction with the Kilibuck in Wooster township, two miles west of Wooster, on the old Eicher farm; the Christmas run joins the Kilibuck a mile southwest of the city of Wooster. Reddick’s Springs, one of the branches of Christmas run, at one date furnished an abundant supply of pure water for the city of Wooster.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Clear creek and Christmas run rise in Wayne township and flow south, the former joining with the Killbuck in Wooster township, two miles west of the city of Wooster, on the Eicher farm ; the latter joins the Killbuck in Wooster township, about a mile south-west of the city. Reddick's Springs, one of the branches of Christmas run, now furnish an ample supply of pure water to the city of Wooster.
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archiveMove of Land Office to
BuiltJohn McSweeney House is built
BuiltCollege of Wooster is built
In the archiveUniversity of Wooster, Ohio, organized Dec. 18th 1866, under the auspices of the Presbyte…
Born hereKarl Taylor Compton is born here
Born hereArthur Holly Compton is born here
In the archiveWaterloo Organ Co. (Manufacturers)
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
BuiltWalnut Street School is built
Born hereHal Varian is born here
Born hereBob Peterson is born here3 decades in the archive, from the 1810s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Wooster. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Wooster.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Wooster’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Grew from 291 people in 1810 to 27,232 in 2020, more than tenfold.
22 censuses, 1810–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Wooster’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1808, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Wooster’s post office opened in 1812, and the census of 1810 counted 291 people here.
Wooster is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #193 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.
11 listings: 7 buildings and 3 historic districts, the Wayne County Courthouse District, the College of Wooster and the Wooster Public Square Historic District, with 59 contributing buildings. 68 historic buildings in all.
17% of Wooster’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1972.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (2), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (11), 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.
