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B−History
History · Ohioville

Ohioville dates to 1790, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 53% of U.S. towns · #708 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1969 on, and the census since 1970.

1790founded
0on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ohioville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Ohioville began

When was Ohioville founded?

1790

Ohioville dates its founding to 1790 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1970.

First census: 3,918 in 19702020 census: 3,349236 years

How historic is Ohioville?

B−

More historic than 53% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1828.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Ohioville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ohioville is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #708 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ohioville’s overall grade.
Founding era1790, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194012.8% of homes (±5.8) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%B−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 53%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 32%

Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Ohioville’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1790.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.8 points).

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 →

What stands out about Ohioville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Ohioville, and 5 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1790: 236 years of Ohioville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ohioville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Ohioville had its own post office from 1828 to 1907. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Ohioville
1828–1907
Smiths Ferry
1834–1969
Black Hawk
1837–1906
Esther
1894–1904
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BlackhawkEstherFairviewFive PointsSmiths Ferry
Gone or out of use
Black Hawk Stage Coach StoplocaleBlackhawk Post Officepost officeSainovich Airportairport
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Ohioville
Four Mile United Presbyterian ChurchGlassHighlandMcLaughlin

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Timeline

Ohioville, 1790 to 1969

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1790
    FoundingOhioville is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1828Post officeThe Ohioville post office opens
  5. 1834Post officeThe Smiths Ferry post office opens
  6. 1837Post officeThe Black Hawk post office opens
  7. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Beaver County - ED 4-115, …
  8. 20th century
  9. 1906Post officeThe Black Hawk post office closes
  10. 1907Post officeThe Ohioville post office closes
  11. 1969Post officeThe Smiths Ferry post office closes
  12. 1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Ohioville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ohioville.

Read it all →

Ohioville was originally Ohio Township, formed in 1805 from parts of South Beaver Township. The region had, in years past, been home to numerous tribes of Native Americans, most notably the Archaic and Woodland periods, which is shown by Iroquoian extraction. Prior to William Penn's arrival in eastern Pennsylvania, the Iroquois tribe of the Five Nations used the region for hunting.

ChaptersEarly communities

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Ohioville, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1850s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Beaver County - ED 4-115, ED 4-116, ED 4-117, ED 4-118, …18501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Penns…
Today5 recent
Pennsylvania State Route 682012Pennsylvania State Route 68Pennsylvania State Route 682012Pennsylvania State Route 68Pennsylvania State Route 682012Pennsylvania State Route 68Westbound PA68 in eastern2007Westbound PA68 in easternPennsylvania State Route 682005Pennsylvania State Route 68
On the map

Ohioville on the map, 1969 to 1979

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

Ohioville on the 1969 USGS mapOhioville on the 1979 USGS map1969Midland 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 Ohioville.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Beaver County - ED 4-115, ED 4-116, ED 4-117, ED 4-118, …
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Beaver County - ED 4-115, ED 4-116, ED 4-117, ED 4-118, …, 1850

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Ohioville’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Ohioville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,500198020002020Peak: 4,217

Between 3,349 and 4,217 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Ohioville

Nobody well known was born in Ohioville itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Ruth Crawford SeegerAmerican composer · b. 1901
Elaine RileyAmerican film and television actress · b. 1917
Ammon HennacyAmerican Christian pacifist, anarchist and soci… · b. 1893
C
Connie CulpAmerican face transplant recipient · b. 1963
John AllisonAmerican politician · b. 1812
Oliver James DickeyAmerican Statesman · b. 1823
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Industry1 historic placeA−South Beaver Township1 historic placeB−Greene TownshipIts storyCMidlandIts storyC+GlasgowIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGeorgetownIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Ohioville’s history

What year was Ohioville founded?

In 1790, according to Wikidata. Ohioville’s post office opened in 1828, and the census of 1970 counted 3,918 people here.

How does Ohioville rank for history?

Ohioville is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #708 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. 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 Ohioville?

13% of Ohioville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1968.

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 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.