Waverly

Village · Pike County · 3,796 residents · 1% municipal income tax

Pike County

Local events in Waverly

5 events in the next 90 days from 2 public calendars. All local events in Waverly

  1. Girls Basketball Scrimmage at Waverly

    6 to 8 p.m. · Waverly High School, 1 Tiger Dr, Waverly, OH 45690, USA · From Adena Local School District

  2. Parent/Teacher Makeup Day

    3 to 7 p.m. · Tiger Dr, Waverly, OH 45690, USA · From Waverly City School District

  3. End of 2nd Nine Weeks

    8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. · Tiger Dr, Waverly, OH 45690, USA · From Waverly City School District

Checked October 20; the events page is refreshed daily.

How Waverly began

Waverly was platted around 1829 by M. Downing as the successor to the older river town of Piketon, and was first called Uniontown before chief canal engineer Francis Cleveland, reading Sir Walter Scott's Waverley novels, suggested the new name because Ohio already had a Uniontown. Its rise was driven by the Ohio and Erie Canal, whose Scioto Division construction started nearby in 1829 and reached the town in the early 1830s, and by the political maneuvering of entrepreneur James Emmitt, who won the county seat away from Piketon in 1861. Waverly was built on the former site of a Shawnee village called Wan-du-cha-le, and Tecumseh is traditionally said to have been born very near the site around 1768. The town survived a devastating cholera epidemic in 1852-53 that, it was said at the time, killed about half of its roughly 600 residents, and is today the seat of Pike County, shaped economically since the 1950s by the nearby Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant.

Platted c. 1829, by M. Downing (platted); originally called Uniontown, renamed Waverly by chief canal engineer Francis Cleveland.

Where the name comes from

The town was first platted as Uniontown. When residents tried to secure a post office under that name in 1829, they learned Ohio already had a Uniontown in the northern part of the state. Francis Cleveland, the canal's chief engineer (and an uncle of future president Grover Cleveland), was reading Sir Walter Scott's Waverley novels at the time and suggested "Waverly" as the new name, which stuck.

Before the town

Tecumseh, the Shawnee war leader, is traditionally reported to have been born about 1768 somewhere very close to the Waverly site, perhaps just north of it, according to the village's Wikipedia article; this is a traditional attribution rather than a precisely documented birthplace, and readers should treat it as such. More concretely, a 1958 county history records that the spot where Waverly was platted "was the former site of the Shawnee village known as Wan-du-cha-le." The wider Waverly/Pee Pee Township area, like the rest of the Scioto Valley, carries evidence of nomadic Paleo-Indian presence from roughly 13,000 BC, Adena-culture mound building from about 1000-800 BC, Hopewell-culture activity from about 300 BC to AD 600, and Fort Ancient-culture occupation from about AD 1000 into the 1600s, per Wikipedia. Elsewhere in Pike County, the Native record includes the Piketon Mounds, treaties and removal.

Nations recorded here: Shawnee, Adena culture, Hopewell culture, Fort Ancient culture.

  • Wan-du-cha-le (village) — site of present-day Waverly, Pee Pee Township, Pike County, Ohio, historic Shawnee (archive.org)

Timeline

  1. — First European settlers arrived in the area that became Waverly.
  2. — The town was platted by M. Downing under the name Uniontown, soon renamed Waverly, on the former site of the Shawnee village Wan-du-cha-le.
  3. — Work on the Ohio and Erie Canal's Scioto Division started in the vicinity of Uniontown/Waverly, at the Pee Pee locks; by the time the canal work began, 66 people lived in and around the town, and laborers and engineers flocked in faster than there was housing.
  4. — Waverly had grown to 306 inhabitants.
  5. — An outbreak of erysipelas, known locally as "black tongue," spread through Waverly, fed in part by the unsanitary condition of hog pens near the distillery, and caused a large number of deaths.
  6. — Cholera swept Waverly as it became general through the Ohio Valley; with about 600 inhabitants in the town at the time, it was said that fully half of them died.
  7. — The Ohio and Erie Canal was completed to Waverly, reshaping the town's economy and drawing the county seat fight in its favor.
  8. — The Pike County seat moved from Piketon to Waverly after a campaign led by entrepreneur James Emmitt, and the Emmitt House hotel was built.
  9. — Confederate cavalry under John Hunt Morgan ("Morgan's Raiders") passed through the area during the Civil War.
  10. — In August 1952 the Atomic Energy Commission selected a site near Piketon for the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, triggering a local economic boom.
  11. — The Waverly Canal Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 20.
  12. — The historic Emmitt House, built in 1861, burned.

Stories

Winning the county seat

Piketon had been the seat of Pike County since the county's founding in 1815, but by the 1850s the Ohio and Erie Canal ran through Waverly instead, and river and canal trade was shifting business downstream. Waverly businessman James Emmitt used his wealth and political connections to push for the county seat to move to his town, and in 1861 the county government relocated to Waverly. Emmitt then built the Emmitt House, a large hotel that anchored the new county seat for over 150 years until it burned in January 2014. The move reshaped Pike County's geography of power: Piketon, once the seat, became a village in Seal Township's orbit, while Waverly took over the courthouse, the county offices, and the growth that followed.

The cholera summer of 1852

For about twenty years, from 1840 to 1860, Waverly's sanitary condition was notoriously bad: stagnant ponds and the filth of hog pens near the town distillery, where some 5,000 hogs were fed on distillery slops, kept the air heavy with stench and colored Crooked Creek and the Scioto downstream, killing fish for miles. That poison was blamed for an 1845 outbreak of "black tongue" (erysipelas of the throat) and, worse, for how violently cholera struck the town in 1852-53 when the disease became general through the Ohio Valley. The canal, which connected Waverly to the wider world and its trade, is also thought to have carried the disease in. Of roughly 600 residents, it was said that fully half perished; neighboring towns believed for a time that Waverly was being emptied of its people. The hog pens were later moved farther from town and the ponds drained, and by the 1880s the county history could report the town's sanitary condition as good as any in the state.

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · archive.org · archive.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org

Water

Mostly private wells The water here

Hospitals, fire stations and more

Inside Waverly's boundary: 1 health center, 1 dialysis center, 1 nursing home, 1 fire or EMS station, 4 public schools, 1 private school, 1 library, 1 museum, 1 police station, 3 Toxics Release Inventory facilities and 5 spill cases. Press a pin or a name for its whole record and its source.

Community health centers (1)

  1. North StreetHealth center · Waverly
    Run by
    a federally qualified health center
    Setting
    Clinic
    City
    Waverly
    Coordinates
    39.12683, -82.98866

Source: HRSA health center service delivery sites, active, September 2026 (school-based sites left out). Health centers see patients whether or not they have insurance, with fees on a sliding scale.

Dialysis centers (1)

  1. Davita Pike County DialysisDialysis · Waverly
    Address
    609 W. Emmitt Avenue, Waverly, OH 45690
    Dialysis stations
    9
    Medicare star rating
    3 of 5 stars
    Services
    in-center hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, home hemodialysis training
    Ownership
    for profit
    Chain
    DaVita
    Medicare certified since
    2014-10-18
    Phone
    (740) 941-1688
    Medicare ID
    362817

Source: CMS dialysis facility list, September 2026, geocoded with the Census Bureau batch geocoder (an address it could not place sits at its ZIP center).

Nursing homes (1)

  1. National Church Residences Bristol Village5 of 5 stars · Waverly
    Address
    444 Cherry St, Waverly, OH 45690
    Certified beds
    40
    Residents on an average day
    33
    Medicare overall rating
    5 of 5 stars
    Health inspections
    5 of 5 stars
    Staffing
    3 of 5 stars
    Quality measures
    4 of 5 stars
    Penalties since 2023
    none
    Ownership
    Non profit - Corporation
    Continuing care retirement community
    Yes
    Takes
    Medicare and Medicaid
    Phone
    (740) 947-2113
    Medicare ID
    365742

Source: CMS Care Compare nursing home provider and penalties files; Medicare star ratings run 1 to 5.

Fire and EMS stations (1)

  1. Waverly Fire DepartmentWaverly
    Address
    202 South Market Street, Waverly, OH 45690
    Coordinates
    39.12487, -82.98370

Source: USGS National Map structures (most Ohio records last updated 2019 to 2022), checked against the Columbus and Cleveland station lists. The department that answers a call is set by jurisdiction and mutual aid, not by distance.

Public schools (4)

  1. Waverly High School3 of 5 stars · Waverly
    Address
    1 Tiger Drive, Waverly, OH 45690
    School district
    Waverly City School District
    Kind (NCES)
    Regular School
    Students, 2023-24
    452
    Teachers (full-time equivalent)
    32
    Report card, 2025-26
    3 of 5 stars
    Performance index
    64.9%
    Four-year graduation rate
    97.1%
    Ohio building IRN
    039909
    NCES school ID
    390491403506
  2. Waverly Intermediate School3.5 of 5 stars · Waverly
    Address
    5 Tiger Drive, Waverly, OH 45690
    School district
    Waverly City School District
    Kind (NCES)
    Regular School
    Students, 2023-24
    381
    Teachers (full-time equivalent)
    20
    Report card, 2025-26
    3.5 of 5 stars
    Performance index
    72.5%
    Ohio building IRN
    040410
    NCES school ID
    390491403507
  3. Waverly Junior High School3 of 5 stars · Waverly
    Address
    3 Tiger Drive, Waverly, OH 45690
    School district
    Waverly City School District
    Kind (NCES)
    Regular School
    Students, 2023-24
    389
    Teachers (full-time equivalent)
    26
    Report card, 2025-26
    3 of 5 stars
    Performance index
    66.9%
    Ohio building IRN
    027425
    NCES school ID
    390491403505
  4. Waverly Primary School2.5 of 5 stars · Waverly
    Address
    7 Tiger Drive, Waverly, OH 45690
    School district
    Waverly City School District
    Kind (NCES)
    Regular School
    Students, 2023-24
    451
    Teachers (full-time equivalent)
    25
    Report card, 2025-26
    2.5 of 5 stars
    Ohio building IRN
    009407
    NCES school ID
    390491403504

Source: NCES EDGE public school locations 2024-25 and Common Core of Data 2023-24 (type, students, teachers); Ohio School Report Cards 2025-26 (Department of Education and Workforce), matched by name within the district.

Private schools (1)

  1. Pike Christian AcademyPrivate, conservative Christian · Waverly
    Address
    400 Clough St, Waverly, OH 45690
    Kind
    conservative Christian
    Students, 2023-24
    121
    Teachers (full-time equivalent)
    10.6
    Students per teacher
    11.4151
    Phone
    (740) 947-1907
    NCES private school ID
    A9300736

Source: NCES Private School Survey 2023-24.

Public libraries (1)

  1. Garnet A. Wilson Pl of Pike CoCentral library · Waverly
    Address
    207 N. Market St., Waverly, OH 45690
    What it is
    Central library
    Library system
    Garnet A. Wilson Pl of Pike Co
    Open
    3,120 hours a year, 52 weeks
    Building
    9,252 sq ft
    System's visits, FY2024
    21,892
    System's loans, FY2024
    90,662
    People the system serves
    27,088
    Phone
    (740) 947-4921

Source: IMLS Public Libraries Survey FY2024 (outlets and their systems). Any Ohio resident can get a free card at any Ohio public library.

Museums, historical societies, gardens and zoos (1)

  1. Pike Heritage FoundationHistorical society · Waverly
    What it is
    Historical society
    City
    Waverly
    Coordinates
    39.12593, -82.98429

    The museum list is IMLS's 2018 file; a museum may have closed or moved since.

Source: IMLS Museum Data Files, 2018.

Police stations (1)

  1. Waverly Police DepartmentWaverly
    Address
    202 South Market Street, Waverly, OH 45690
    Coordinates
    39.12513, -82.98356

Source: USGS National Map structures, police stations, corrected and completed by hand (September 2026). The department that answers a call is set by jurisdiction, not by distance.

Facilities reporting toxic releases (3)

  1. Brown Company of Waverly LlcToxics Release Inventory · Waverly
    Address
    611 W Second St, Waverly, OH 45690
    County
    Pike County
    Status
    Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory (active)
    EPA program ID
    45690BRWNC611W2
    EPA registry ID
    110004635645
  2. Lykins Oil Company - WaverlyToxics Release Inventory · Waverly
    Address
    313 W North St, Waverly, OH 45690
    County
    Pike County County
    Status
    Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory
    EPA program ID
    4569WLYKNS313WN
    EPA registry ID
    110070069389
  3. Masco Retail Cabinet GroupToxics Release Inventory · Waverly
    Address
    423 Hopewell Road, Waverly, OH 45690
    County
    Pike County
    Status
    Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory (active)
    EPA program ID
    45690DWPCR423HO
    EPA registry ID
    110000395313

Source: EPA Facility Registry Service, Toxics Release Inventory reporters. Reporting a release is required of large users of listed chemicals; it is not by itself a violation.

Spills reported since 2021 (5)

  1. Nitrogen Fertilizer 28%2025-05-26 · Waverly
    Reported
    2025-05-26
    What spilled
    Nitrogen Fertilizer 28%; Nitrogen (N)
    Largest amount reported
    600 gallons
    Where
    Waverly, Pike County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2505EPA0000843
  2. Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)2025-01-21 · Waverly
    Reported
    2025-01-21
    What spilled
    Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
    Largest amount reported
    2 gallons
    Where
    Waverly, Pike County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2501EPA0000078
  3. Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)2023-07-12 · Waverly
    Reported
    2023-07-12
    What spilled
    Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
    Largest amount reported
    100 gallons
    Where
    Waverly, Pike County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2307EPA0001155
  4. Oil Transformer Non Pcb2023-04-24 · Waverly
    Reported
    2023-04-24
    What spilled
    Oil Transformer Non Pcb
    Where
    Waverly, Pike County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2304EPA0000656
  5. Oil Petroleum Not Otherwise Specified (Nos)2026-03-30 · Waverly
    Reported
    2026-03-30
    What spilled
    Oil Petroleum Not Otherwise Specified (Nos)
    Where
    Waverly, Pike County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2603EPA0000523

Source: Ohio EPA emergency response spill reports, 2021 to September 2026, one point per case where Ohio EPA placed it. A report is what the caller or responder recorded; amounts are often blank or estimated.

Its ZIP codes

Each ZIP code that touches Waverly, with the share of its residents who live here and the same headline figures as the ZIP page.

Local government

Who holds office in Waverly, how its elections and ballot issues came out, and the state auditor's record.

Elections for office

DateOfficeCandidates and votes
2021-11-02 Member of Council, Ward Two Thomas Gene Hlasten 128, 100.0%
2021-11-02 Member of Council, Ward Three Christina Sheridan 71, 100.0%
2021-11-02 Member of Council, At Large Thomas Lee Patterson 409, 100.0%
2019-11-05 Member of Council, Ward 4 (unofficial count) Forest L. Blakeman 29, 100.0%
2019-11-05 Member of Council, Ward 3 (unofficial count) Kristi Sue Case 58, 100.0%
2019-11-05 Member of Council, Ward 2 (unofficial count) Alfred F. Foell, Jr 120, 100.0%
2019-11-05 Member of Council, At Large (unofficial count) Mary Ellen Cormany 299, 100.0%
2019-11-05 Mayor (unofficial count) Gregory A. Kempton 326, 100.0%
2019-11-05 Auditor (unofficial count) Debra Jeanne Whaley 309, 100.0%
2019-05-07 Member of Council, At Large Mary Ellen Cormany 168, 81.95%
2019-05-07 Mayor Gregory A. Kempton 197, 100.0%
2019-05-07 Auditor Debra J Whaley 180, 75.63%; Linda Murphy 58, 24.37%
2015-11-03 Ward 4 Council Forest Blakeman 82, 100.0%
2015-11-03 Ward 3 Council Scott M. Dailey 135, 100.0%
2015-11-03 Ward 2 Council Richard L. Demlow 280, 100.0%
2015-11-03 Mayor Gregory A. Kempton 904, 100.0%
2015-11-03 Council At Large Mary Ellen Cormany 776, 100.0%
2015-11-03 Auditor Harvey L. Whaley 848, 100.0%

Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked.

Auditor of State record

Rain and snow

How much has actually fallen on Waverly, day by day, from 1893 to now. Daily totals, not averages.

rain, last 30 days
0.75 in
2026-09-30 to 2026-10-29
rain so far in 2026
40.8 in
3.6 in above normal for the date
snow so far in 2026
16.6 in
a normal year brings 15.3 in
a normal year
43.9 in
average of 30 years, 1991-2020
The last twelve months
MonthRain (in)Snow (in)Days counted
October 2026 0.75 — 29
September 2026 9.51 — 30
August 2026 5.39 — 31
July 2026 3.82 — 31
June 2026 3.85 — 30
May 2026 6.13 — 31
April 2026 3.31 — 30
March 2026 5.38 — 31
February 2026 0.80 6.0 28
January 2026 1.85 10.6 31
December 2025 1.71 6.8 31
November 2025 3.82 1.5 30
On the record, 1893–2026
Wettest year2018 — 62.2 in
Driest year1930 — 22.5 in
Snowiest year1910 — 53.4 in
Wettest day on record10 September 2026 — 4.71 in
Heaviest snowfall in a day6 January 1910 — 14.02 in
Deepest snow on the ground4 February 1907 — 39.02 in

Almost every day here is a measurement: 94% of them come from a rain gauge standing inside Waverly itself.

48,876 days of records, 1893-01-01 to 2026-10-29. Source: NOAA NCEI GHCN-Daily, 3,240 gauges in and around Ohio. A day is "gauged" when a gauge standing inside the boundary reported it, and the value is the mean of those gauges. Otherwise it is interpolated by inverse distance from every gauge reporting within 50 miles. Nothing is carried forward, back-filled or smoothed. Against NOAA nClimDiv county monthly precipitation over 136,848 complete county-months (checked 2026-10-31): correlation 0.9515, median absolute difference 0.217 in a month. Built 2026-10-31 from the Cracked Buckeye precipitation archive. Snow is the softer number — snowfall is measured by hand with a ruler, no agency publishes a gridded county snowfall series, and blowing snow defeats every observer.

Environmental permits and filings

What Ohio EPA has on file for Waverly: permits, inspections, violations, cleanups and the state loans behind sewer and water work. Every line links to the agency's own document.

facilities and sites on file
24
those placed on the map inside Waverly
What kind of permits
ProgramFacilities and sites
Hazardous waste10
Contaminated-site cleanup5
Air pollution3
State sewer loans2
State water loans2
Brownfield1
Wastewater and stormwater discharge1
The latest filings
DateFacility or siteWhat
DDC - WAVERLY Wastewater and stormwater discharge permit
PARKER HANNIFIN CORP Hazardous waste plan
BOYER FUNERAL HOME Air pollution report
PARKER HANNIFIN CORP Hazardous waste plan
PARKER HANNIFIN CORP Hazardous waste report
PARKER HANNIFIN CORP Hazardous waste plan
PARKER HANNIFIN CORP Hazardous waste plan
PARKER HANNIFIN CORP Hazardous waste plan
PARKER HANNIFIN CORP Hazardous waste inspection
PARKER HANNIFIN CORP Hazardous waste cleanup response
PARKER HANNIFIN CORP Hazardous waste plan
PARKER HANNIFIN CORP Hazardous waste plan
PARKER HANNIFIN CORP Hazardous waste inspection
PARKER HANNIFIN CORP Hazardous waste inspection
BOYER FUNERAL HOME Air pollution permit
PARKER HANNIFIN CORP Hazardous waste report
PARKER HANNIFIN CORP Hazardous waste inspection
BOYER FUNERAL HOME Air pollution notice of violation
PARKER HANNIFIN CORP Hazardous waste report
WAVERLY WWTP State sewer loans
PARKER HANNIFIN CORP Hazardous waste plan
PARKER HANNIFIN CORP Hazardous waste plan
WAVERLY WWTP State sewer loans
WAVERLY WWTP State sewer loans
WAVERLY WWTP State sewer loans

Source: Ohio EPA eDocument portal (edocpub.epa.ohio.gov), indexed 2026-10-14. Facilities are placed on the map from Ohio EPA's own map layers, EPA's Facility Registry, coordinates written in the filings, or a geocoded street address. A permit filed under a private person's name (most are household septic systems) is counted but never named, placed or linked; licenses for individual workers and open-burning notices are left out entirely.

Quick answers

What county is Waverly, Ohio in?

Waverly is a village in Pike County, Ohio, with 3,796 residents.

When was Waverly, Ohio founded?

Waverly was laid out c. 1829. Founders on record: M. Downing (platted); originally called Uniontown, renamed Waverly by chief canal engineer Francis Cleveland. Source

How did Waverly, Ohio get its name?

The town was first platted as Uniontown. Source

What ZIP code is Waverly, Ohio?

Most of Waverly is in ZIP code 45690.

Where does Waverly, Ohio get its water?

The main water source for Waverly (Waverly City): Mostly private wells.

Cite this page

Cite this page as:

Cracked Buckeye, "Waverly, Pike County", https://crackedbuckeye.com/place/waverly/, built 2026-10-31, accessed [date].

How to cite · Report a correction · Built 2026-10-31