Block
Houston, Ohio
14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1909 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Loramie Township. It lies in ZIP code area 45333. It stands on Ninemile Creek. The Survey maps it on the Fort Loramie quadrangle. It stands 958 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1909 to 1986The same ground, surveyed 77 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.
Topographic sheets covering this place
14 sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1909 USGS Loramie quadrangle1:62500
- 1911 USGS Loramie quadrangle1:62500
- 1944 USGS Loramie quadrangle1:62500
- 1953 USGS Muncie quadrangle1:250000
- 1953 USGS Muncie quadrangle1:250000
- 1953 USGS Muncie quadrangle1:250000
- 1953 USGS Muncie quadrangle1:250000
- 1953 USGS Muncie quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS Muncie quadrangle1:250000
- 1961 USGS Fort Loramie quadrangle1:24000
- 1961 USGS Fort Loramie quadrangle1:24000
- 1986 USGS Piqua quadrangle1:100000
- 1986 USGS Piqua quadrangle1:100000
- 1986 USGS Piqua quadrangle1:100000
In the county-history sources
20,902 words on this townshipHistory of Shelby County, Ohio, published 1883 names this settlement in its chapter on Loramie Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
This township occupies the southwest corner of the connty, and is seven miles from east to west, and five miles from north to south. It is crossed from the northeast corner to the centre of the west line by the C. C. C. & I. R. R., on which are located two stations. The northeast corner of the township is crossed by the canal and Loramie Creek. Nine Mile Creek traces in a general course from west to northeast, and enters the Loramie near Houston. A few minor streams enter Nine Mile Creek from the south, which are small, but still facilitate drainage.
Passage source: History of Shelby County, Ohio, published 1883.
The surface for the most part is level, and the west side is even low and flat. The soil is rich, and yields abundantly of tiie cereals and grasses. The villages are small, and consist of Houston, North Houston, Mt. Jefferson, and Russia. The settlement is old and the community wealthy.
Passage source: History of Shelby County, Ohio, published 1883.
The settlement of this township dates back to the times immediately following the war of 1812. Indeed, a few settlers appear to have found this locality, and commenced rearing new homes in the new country, not only during the period of that strife, but anterior thereto. There was Samuel McClure, with his wife and children, who settled in section 9, on land now owned by J. W. Akin, prior to 1812. There may have been other settlers who came here as early, but real growth dates from about the year 1814, or immediately alter the withdrawal of hostile forces from this section, the theatre Of war having been pushed northward. Let us pause and glance at some of the settlers, and produce a chapter, which,
Passage source: History of Shelby County, Ohio, published 1883.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Read the whole chapter on Loramie Township - it names this place 21 more 21 times.
Specimens collected near this place
12 of 205 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 205 specimens collected within 10 miles of Houston between 1897 and 1967: 141 Animalia, 40 Fungi, 23 Plantae, 1 Unrecorded. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. R. Gaufin, A.R. Gaufin, H.H. Ross, Arden R. Gaufin and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.
| Image | Species | Year | Collected by | Where, as recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Sorghum Moench | 1897 | Kellerman, W.A. | Shelby Co., Ohio. |
 | Dryopteris spinulosa (O.F.Müll.) Watt | 1898 | Wetzstein, A. | Rich woods. Minster, Ohio |
 | Diphasiastrum digitatum (Dill. ex A.Braun) Holub | 1902 | Grover, F.O. | Opens woods, N. Amherst, near F & D Quarry |
| unnamed | 1897 | WA Kellerman | Shelby County | |
 | Carex shortiana Dewey & Torr. | 1897 | Wetzstein, A. | |
 | Cercosporina apii (Fresen.) Miura | 1897 | Selby A. D. | Kirkwood |
| Sorosporium reilianum (J.G.Kühn) McAlpine | 1897 | W. A. Kellerman | ||
 | Sphacelotheca reiliana (J.G.Kühn) G.P.Clinton | 1897 | Kellerman W. A. | Shelby Co. |
 | Ustilago reiliana J.G.Kühn | 1897 | Kellerman, W.A. | Shelby County, Ohio. |
 | Accipiter cooperii (Bonaparte, 1828) | 1904 | Henninger, W. F. (Walther Frederick) | New Bremen, Shelby, Ohio, USA |
 | Ameiurus natalis (Lesueur, 1819) | 1905 | Clark, C. F. (Clarence F.) | Loramie Creek, Sec 30 of Cynthian township, ~0.3 mi SW of Newport, Cynthian township |
 | Campostoma anomalum anomalum | 1905 | Clark, C. F. (Clarence F.) | Loramie Creek, Sec 30 of Cynthian township, ~0.3 mi SW of Newport, Cynthian township |
All 205 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Mines and quarries near this place
6 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Houston: 4 past producers, 1 plant, 1 producer. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ernest Sand and Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Ernst Gravel Co. Plant & Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Plant | ||
| Morelock Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Norelock Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Washington Township Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Washington Township Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
5 since 2001Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Houston in 5 storm reports between 2001 and 2025: 2 hail, 2 flood, 1 thunderstorm wind. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Houston | $1,000 | Trees were reported down due to damaging thunderstorm winds. |
| April 2025 | Flood | Houston | - | The road was closed due to high water near the intersection of Russia-Versailles Road and State Route 48. |
| March 2020 | Flood | Houston | - | High water was reported on a few roads in the county. |
| May 2011 | Hail | Houston | - | no account filed |
| October 2001 | Hail | Houston | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Jefferson | 0.8 miles | 15 | |
| Dawson | 1.0 miles | 14 | |
| Oran | 2.7 miles | 14 | |
| Newport | 3.3 miles | 14 | |
| Russia | 4.1 miles | 13 | |
| Newbern | 5.1 miles | 15 | |
| Hardin | 5.5 miles | 15 | |
| Lockington | 6.3 miles | 16 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Houston | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q5916329 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1064869. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.