The story
Read it all →How Anderson Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Anderson Township.
The Huffman Mill Covered Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
C−History
History · Anderson Township
Half of Anderson Township’s homes were built after 1988
More historic than 20% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Anderson Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1958 on, and the census since 1890.
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Quick answers
About Anderson Township’s history
How historic is Anderson Township?
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What drives the grade ↓More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Anderson Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Anderson Township is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Anderson Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19406.4% of homes (±5.5) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%C+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical IN town 7.9 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 20%
NewerOlder
Indiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Indiana town has 7.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Anderson Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (22% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.5 points).
Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
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.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Lilly Dale
Don Juan
Ranger
Gatchel
Deer Creek
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
GatchelLilly DaleRanger
Gone or out of use
Don Juan Post Officepost office
13cemeteries and burying grounds inside Anderson Township
AveryCoveyDavisDodsonFrakesHammackHicksMackeyNilesNixonRichardsSlaughterTerry
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Anderson Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Anderson Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.From the old history books
What they wrote about Anderson Township in 1916
Passages that mention Anderson Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Perry County, a history1916 · page 270Read the page →
Read the text
parsonage were built. The cornerstone of the present stone church was laid June 26, 1882, under the pastorate of the Rev. Charles F. Bilger. Father Marendt in 1860 purchased in Anderson Township for church and school purposes an acre of land on which stood a small frame building, saying the first mass in what became St. Mark's Mission. Father Dion added more land, and in 1867 work was begun upon a stone church, 36 by 65,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Anderson Township, 1855 to 1958
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1855Post officeThe Lilly Dale post office opens
- 1858Post officeThe Don Juan post office opens
- 1866Post officeThe Ranger post office opens
- 20th century
- 1906Post officeThe Don Juan post office closes
- 1918Post officeThe Lilly Dale post office closes
- 1952Post officeThe Ranger post office closes
- 1958
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Anderson Township, decade by decade
Date unknown5 to date
Date?
Date?
Date?
Date?
Date?On the map
Anderson Township on the map, 1958 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Anderson Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1958Gatchel sheet · 1:24,000U.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.
Retake this viewAnderson Carriage Manufacturing Company, Twenty-fifth & Walton Streets
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 · +15People over time
Anderson Township, census by census
Between 1,038 and 1,990 people in every census since 1890.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Anderson Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Anderson Township
Nobody well known was born in Anderson Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
T
Tim WhelanFilm director, writer and producer · b. 1893
P
Paul D. EtienneAmerican Roman Catholic priest · b. 1959
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Huff TownshipIts storyC+Harrison Township2 historic placesA−Clark TownshipIts storyB−Leopold TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townUnion TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTroy Township5 historic placesATobin Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about Anderson Township’s history
How does Anderson Township rank for history?
Anderson Township is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Anderson Township?
6% of Anderson Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1988.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.