Named for Anthony Wayne, built on Sandy Creek
Waynesburg is one of the oldest villages in Stark County. It was platted in 1814, or 1815 by the 1881 county history, which credits Joseph Handlon with laying it out, and it was named for General Anthony Wayne. The Ohio legislature incorporated the town on February 6, 1833. Its post office opened in 1824 as “Waynesburgh” and dropped the “h” in 1893.
Early Waynesburg was a small industrial town. Patrick Call opened its first iron foundry in 1845, and the village had a brewery, a distillery and a tannery. The Sandy and Beaver Canal passed nearby on its way to Bolivar, but railroads made it obsolete within a few years. The first train reached Waynesburg on January 1, 1854.
Sandy Township coal country
The township around Waynesburg was organized in March 1809 and named for its sandy soil. Coal came early: Samuel Allerton, a blacksmith, opened the township’s first mine, and by 1881 eight mines were working. The county planning commission also records that John Brown built a half-mile, three-foot-gauge railroad, pulled by mules, to haul quarry stone to Elson’s dam.
Old mining country can matter to a sale. If you know of mine workings, subsidence or an old well on your land, tell the buyer.
Some of the oldest housing in Stark County
Waynesburg’s median year built is 1938, and more than half of its homes were built in 1939 or earlier. Census estimates for 2020-2024:
| Waynesburg village | Sandy Township | |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | About 424 | About 1,517 |
| Median year built | 1938 | 1954 |
| Built 1939 or earlier | About 56% | About 34% |
| Owner-occupied | About 60% | About 75% |
| Mobile homes | About 5% | About 8% |
| Median home value (owner estimate) | About $129,300 | About $147,500 |
| Median gross rent | About $940 | About $905 |
A house that old often has knob-and-tube or early wiring, plaster walls, lead paint under newer layers and a basement that was never meant to be finished. Our pages on selling a house with old wiring and on lead paint disclosure cover what you owe a buyer. If yours has been updated and shows well, listing it may get you more than we would pay, and we’ll say so if that’s the case.
The dye test and Sandy Creek
Waynesburg sits along Sandy Creek, and that shapes the county’s septic check for nearby homes. The Stark County Health Department inspects every household sewage system before transfer, using dye to trace where wastewater goes. In some cases, the department says, the inspector may come back on a later day to make sure the dye hasn’t reached area waterways. Build that possible second visit into your closing date.
Roads, schools and the next village over
State Routes 43, 183 and 171 meet in Waynesburg, and Lake Mohawk is close by. The village is in Sandy Valley Local School District, which also includes Magnolia, East Sparta and Sandyville and covers about 80 square miles across Stark, Tuscarawas and Carroll counties. Saint James Elementary, a parochial school, is in the village. Magnolia is a few miles down Route 183, and Minerva is at the other end of it.
For probate, the conveyance fee and other county rules, see our Stark County page. To get a written number for your Waynesburg house, start here.