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History · Mason

Mason’s post office opened in 1855, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Shumaker-Lewis House and the Gold Houses, The. Below: maps from 1907 on and the census since 1870.

1855first post office
2on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Mason began

When was Mason founded?

1855

The Mason post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1856.

First census: 1,182 in 18702020 census: 866171 years
Founding year: the first Mason post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1856.The full story ↓

What stands out about Mason’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 Mason are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,432 in 1980; 866 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19074 editions of the USGS map, 1907 to 1992. Watch Mason change.Old housesHalf of Mason’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mason’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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People over time

Mason, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,60018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,432

Peaked at 1,432 in 1980; 866 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

On the map

Mason on the map, 1907 to 1992

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

Mason on the 1907 USGS mapMason on the 1960 USGS mapMason on the 1971 USGS mapMason on the 1992 USGS map1907Pomeroy 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 Mason.

The story

How Mason came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mason.

Read it all →

The Gold Houses and Shumaker-Lewis House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mason, 1855 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855Post officeThe Mason post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1907On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 1,432
By decade

Mason, decade by decade

Today3 recent
The Bridge of Honor, commonly known as the Pomeroy-Mason Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge over the Ohio River between Po…2015The Bridge of Honor, commonly known as the Pomeroy-Ma…The Bridge of Honor, commonly known as the Pomeroy-Mason Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge over the Ohio River between Po…2015The Bridge of Honor, commonly known as the Pomeroy-Ma…The Mason City Public library2015The Mason City Public library
On the National Register

2 historic places in Mason

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Shumaker-Lewis House
Shumaker-Lewis HouseGold Houses, The
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Eastlake1
Queen Anne Foursquare1
Shumaker-Lewis HouseEastlake
Gold Houses, TheQueen Anne Foursquare

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Mason’s post office has been open since 1855.

Gone or out of use
Mason Elementary Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Mason
I.O.O.F.Odd FellowsSaint Josephs

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Clifton1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Mason’s history

What year was Mason founded?

The Mason post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1856.

What is on the National Register in Mason?

Two places: the Shumaker-Lewis House (listed 1979) and the Gold Houses, The (1997).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.