The Blue River Township post office opened in 1844, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Blue River (1844) and Messick (1884), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,106182 years
How historic is Blue River Township?
B+
More historic than 75% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Blue River Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Blue River Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Blue River Township is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Blue River Township’s overall grade.
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 Blue River 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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). 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 Blue River Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Blue River
1844–1848
Messick
1884–1926
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Messick
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Blue River Township
BalesKessinger
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Blue River Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Blue River Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Blue River Township is one of thirteen townships in Henry County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1,224 and it contained 500 housing units. Blue River Township was organized in 1848.
Its first post office opened in 1844. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,224 to 1,106 (-10%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Blue River Township in 1906
Passages that mention Blue River Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Hazzard's history of Henry county, Indiana, 1822-19061906 · page 44Read the page →
Read the text
This office was located in Blue River Township, as a country neighborhood postoffice, two miles north of Messick, at a place commonly known as Goose Creek. After the construction of the railroad through the county, northeast from New Castle, and the establishment of the station of Messick and the town of Mooreland, the office was discontinued.
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
Blue River Township, 1844 to 1950
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Blue River Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1950New Castle East 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 Blue River Township.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Blue River Township post office opened in 1844, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Blue River Township rank for history?
Blue River Township is more historic than 75% 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 Blue River Township?
43% of Blue River Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.8 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1953.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
