The core of Chardon is along Chardon square and then extends out along the various roads radiating from Dwtn where there are sidewalks and older homes.

Chardon Township was incorporated in 1812. The town slowly grew decade by decade and by around the Civil War Chardon had reached 885 souls.  This was also around the time of the Chardon Fire which, in 1868, destroyed the majority of the  uptown area around Chardon Square. Fortunately Chardon Square was quickly rebuilt and what followed was a concentrated array of gorgeous Italianate Victorian commercial structures from the 1870s & 1880s. A new more beautiful county courthouse was also built at this time.

Post fire, Chardon’s population continued to modestly grow reaching 1,350 residents by 1900 and 2000 by 1940. Chardon also witnessed a modest amount of post-War II suburban growing doubling to  4,000 people in the 70s and reached just over 5,200 residents in 2020.

From an urban perspective Chardon has a lovely historic square surrounded by well occupied historic commercial bldgs on the west side and more institution buildings on the east. Several historic residential streets radiate out from Chardon Square, but a street grid is limited and the City quickly transitions into more suburban/bucolic development. Chardon is also very isolated, located more than 30 minutes from any major employment center and thus has poor public transit. But the City posts good cultural and retail amenities, great schools, decent parks, moderately priced housing, and a safe and quite environment.

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* ADA infrastructure is good along the Chardon Square and hit or miss in streets move out.
* Good cultural amenities including a good array of restaurants, cafes, and a couple of community theaters,
* Good generational diversity with lots of families living here, but young adults are a bit limited.* Very high quality schools located within or just north of the core town.
* For sale housing prices are very reasonable here with 1-beds selling around 100K, 2-beds 150K-300K 3 &4 beds btwn 175-400K.
* Decent park amenities with the attractive central Chardon Square and Chardon Park, which includes a pool, several ballfields and other attractions.
* Very good tree canopy overall.
* Great historic architecture, especially the wonderful concentration of 1870s-1890s Italian commercial structures (thanks to a fire!). The residential homes are also very attractive.
* This is a very safe community.
* Good retail amenities although many reside just outside of the core area in strip malls (e.g. several supermarkets, a big lots, a home depot, a couple drug store, several banks, ). Around the square there are several boutiques,  antique, and home good stores, a couple banks, a couple gyms, several churches, a dwtn post office and public library.
* Definitively an in-demand Cleveland suburb.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Density is similar to that of a suburb.
* Very limited transit provided by Geauga County.
* 35-40 minutes drive to all major employments areas (Chagrin Highlands, University Circle, and Dwtn. No real transit connections.
* Decent connectivity. Along the square but it quickly fades out.
* Bike infrastructure is overall limited but a nice dedicated recreational path cuts through town.
* Horrible racial diversity with over 96% of the population as white.
* Okay economic diversity.
* Rentals are reasonably priced but very limited, especially 1 & 2 bedrooms.
* No art galleries, live music venues, nor museums in Chardon.
* A decent amount of unattractive autocentric in-fill on the edge of the core. No inf-ill around Chardon Square.
* Not a ton of pedestrian activity but some around Chardon Square.