Founded in the 1830s by William and Jeter Rouse, ruthless boy-bandits in search of a secluded riverside hideaway, Popham soon expanded to take in wanderers and fugitives of every kind, and by the end of the Civil War had become a flourishing center of commerce and the ferryboat nexus for much of north-central Ohio. The Rouse brothers, who had seen that banking, trading, and control of river traffic were surer and more reliable sources of income than banditry, moved into outright respectability with only a few minor escapades and (after the receipt of official pardons for their youthful misdeeds) served honorably, for three terms each, in the Ohio state senate. At its most populous in the decade 1880-1890, when local census reported 18,000 residents, Popham shrank to 12,000 inhabitants during the Great Depression and has remained steady, albeit with slight annual declines, ever since. Popham College, founded by Royce Rouse in 1896 as the Popham Bible Seminary and now a highly regarded liberal arts institution, contributes another 2,000 individuals to the populace, but as these people do not pay local taxes and anyhow come and go like fleas on a jackrabbit, they are not counted in the census.

From Courthouse Square, the town extends for approximately two miles to the north, west, and south. Four blocks east of the square lies the Bluebell River, a tributary of the Scioto. The thriving business district, replete with haberdasheries, pharmacies, card- and bookstores, novelty shops, a movie theater, hostelries, taverns, bars, and other drinking establishments, occupies the blocks immediately around the square and extends down the length of Taft Street, which ends at the handsome greensward of the Popham College campus. The town’s residential areas, Horse Meadow, Climax, Rouseville, and Sundown, are uniformly peaceful, well-shaded, well-kempt, and orderly. Longstanding Neighborhood Councils monitor matters of community importance such as the colors of residences and their trim, status of lawns and yards, styles of mailboxes, the behavior of pets, and the disposition of automobiles.

The intellectual and artistic center of the community, Popham College enriches civic life with concerts and recitals by the United In One Voice Willa Cather-Virginia Woolf Singers, the Sojourner Truth Gospel Shouters, the Differently Abled Popham Barbershoppers, the Cinco de Mayo Accordioneers, and the Gay and Loud Noel Coward Chorale. Three times a year, distinguished and emerging poets participate in the Voice of the Living Poet reading series held in the lovely Warren G. Harding Temple of the Artistic Spirit. The College’s Military Honor Society annually sponsors both the Military Ball, a significant social occasion for town and gown alike, and the Coon Hunt and Wild Game Dinner, a more restricted occasion. A deep sense of spirituality permeates the campus’s Worship and Wellness Center for Holistic Wholeness, particularly its David G. Schine Nondenominational Chapel For All Faiths In No Way Excluding Those Which Do Not Recognize A Supreme Deity.