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Madison County Courthouse in AndersonPhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Anderson Township

Anderson Township dates to 1838, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

10 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1952 on, and the census since 1850.

1838founded
10on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
17old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Anderson Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Anderson Township began

When was Anderson Township founded?

1838

Anderson Township dates its founding to 1838 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 383 in 18502020 census: 55,217188 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1823.The full story ↓

What stands out about Anderson Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos17 old photos, postcards and papers, 1910–1968.Landmarks on the Register10 places on the National Register.Deep rootsEstablished in 1838: 188 years of Anderson Township.Old housesHalf of Anderson Township’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · By decade

Anderson Township, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1920s7 items
Buckeye Mfg Co 19101910Buckeye Mfg Co 1910Advertising The Spirit of the U.S.A. in Anderson, Indiana 19241915Advertising The Spirit of the U.S.A. in Anderson, Ind…Buckeye Manufacturing 19151915Buckeye Manufacturing 1915Elizabeth Early1920Elizabeth EarlyElizabeth Early1920Elizabeth EarlyDon't Get Personal (1922) - 31922Don't Get Personal (1922) - 3What Do Men Want (1921) - 71922What Do Men Want (1921) - 7
1940s–1960s10 items
Untitled - Large Letters (NBY 7536)1943Untitled - Large Letters (NBY 7536)DocumentGENERAL VIEW OF EAST END FROM SOUTHEAST - Rider-Lewis Motor Car Company, West Second Street and Sycamore1968GENERAL VIEW OF EAST END FROM SOUTHEAST - Rider-Lewis…GENERAL VIEW OF EAST END FROM WEST OF SOUTH FRONT - Rider-Lewis Motor Car Company, West Second Street and Sycamore, And…1968GENERAL VIEW OF EAST END FROM WEST OF SOUTH FRONT - R…GENERAL VIEW OF EAST FRONT FROM NORTHEAST - Anderson Carriage Manufacturing Company, Twenty-fifth and Walton Streets, A…1968GENERAL VIEW OF EAST FRONT FROM NORTHEAST - Anderson …GENERAL VIEW OF EAST FRONT FROM SOUTHEAST - Anderson Carriage Manufacturing Company, Twenty-fifth and Walton Streets, A…1968GENERAL VIEW OF EAST FRONT FROM SOUTHEAST - Anderson …GENERAL VIEW OF NORTH REAR - Rider-Lewis Motor Car Company, West Second Street and Sycamore1968GENERAL VIEW OF NORTH REAR - Rider-Lewis Motor Car Co…GENERAL VIEW OF NORTH SIDE FROM NORTHEAST - Buckeye Manufacturing Company, Columbia Avenue1968GENERAL VIEW OF NORTH SIDE FROM NORTHEAST - Buckeye M…GENERAL VIEW OF SOUTH (FRONT) FROM SOUTHEAST - Rider-Lewis Motor Car Company, West Second Street and Sycamore1968GENERAL VIEW OF SOUTH (FRONT) FROM SOUTHEAST - Rider-…GENERAL VIEW OF SOUTH (FRONT) FROM SOUTHWEST - Rider-Lewis Motor Car Company, West Second Street and Sycamore1968GENERAL VIEW OF SOUTH (FRONT) FROM SOUTHWEST - Rider-…GENERAL VIEW OF SOUTH FACADE AND EAST END OF INDUSTRIAL SECTION FROM SOUTHEAST - Rider-Lewis Motor Car Company, West Se…1968GENERAL VIEW OF SOUTH FACADE AND EAST END OF INDUSTRI…
1970s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the National Register

10 listings protect 197 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
10
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
197
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Timeline

Anderson Township, 1838 to 1968

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1838
    FoundingAnderson Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910In the archiveBuckeye Mfg Co 1910
  5. 1920In the archiveElizabeth Early
  6. 1943In the archiveUntitled - Large Letters (NBY 7536)
  7. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1968In the archiveGENERAL VIEW OF EAST END FROM SOUTHEAST - Rider-Lewis Motor Car Company, West Second Stre…
The story

How Anderson Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Anderson Township.

Read it all →

Prior to the organization of Madison County, William Conner entered the land upon which Anderson is located. Conner later sold the ground to John and Sarah Berry, who donated 32 acres (13 ha) of their land to Madison County on the condition that the county seat be moved from Pendleton to Anderson. John Berry laid out the first plat of Anderson on November 7, 1827. In 1828 the seat of justice was moved from Pendleton to Anderson.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the map

Anderson Township on the map, 1952 to 1981

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Anderson Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Anderson Township on the 1952 USGS mapAnderson Township on the 1961 USGS mapAnderson Township on the 1981 USGS map1952Anderson sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Anderson Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Buckeye Mfg Co 1910
Retake this viewBuckeye Mfg Co 1910, 1910

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Anderson Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Anderson Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,00060,00065,00070,00075,0001850190019502000Peak: 70,787

Between 383 and 70,787 people in every census since 1850.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Anderson Township’s Wikipedia page.

Help out

Finish Anderson Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBuckeye Mfg Co 1910: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Fall Creek Township3 historic placesAUnion Township3 historic placesBAnderson10 historic placesAStony Creek TownshipIts storyB−Lafayette TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Anderson Township’s history

What year was Anderson Township founded?

In 1838, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Anderson Township’s post office opened in 1823, and the census of 1850 counted 383 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (17), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.