Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Boswell

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Boswell

Boswell’s post office opened in 1870, and 40% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1880.

1870first post office
0on the National Register
40%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Boswell’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Boswell began

When was Boswell founded?

1870

The Boswell post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1872.

First census: 330 in 18802020 census: 800156 years
Founding year: the first Boswell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1872.The full story ↓

What stands out about Boswell’s past

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

Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1895 to 1921, drew every building in Boswell.Old housesHalf of Boswell’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Every building

Boswell, building by building, 1895–1921

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Boswell fire insurance map, 1895, sheet 11895Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Boswell came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Boswell.

Read it all →

The town of Boswell was first laid out by Charles Moore, but Moore sold the land it occupied to Tippecanoe County-native Elizabeth H. Scott who, with her husband Charles, replatted it in its present form on July 18, 1872. A small general store run from a "rough board shanty" just north of the railroad was the town's first business, but this was joined by many more as the town grew. The town was named for Parnaham Boswell and was platted with streets bearing the names of the founders, Charles and Elizabeth, and their five children, Grace, Emma, Clinton, Harold and Jennie.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Boswell, 1870 to 1962

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Post officeThe Boswell post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1937In the archiveCorn crib on William Weltis' farm near Boswell, Indiana
  5. 1962On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Boswell, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s9 items
Corn crib on William Weltis' farm near Boswell, Indiana1937Corn crib on William Weltis' farm near Boswell, India…Corn crib on William Keefe's owner-operated farm near Boswell, Benton County, Indiana. Three hundred twenty acres, heav…1937Corn crib on William Keefe's owner-operated farm near…Barn on William Weltis' farm near Boswell, Indiana. This farm (fourteen hundred acres) is owner-operated under a heavy …1937Barn on William Weltis' farm near Boswell, Indiana. T…Barn and silo on William Keefe's owner-operated farm near Boswell, Benton County, Indiana. Three hundred twenty acres, …1937Barn and silo on William Keefe's owner-operated farm …Machine shed on William Weltis' farm near Boswell, Indiana. This fourteen hundred acre farm is owner-operated. Under a …1937Machine shed on William Weltis' farm near Boswell, In…House and outbuildings on William Weltis' farm near Boswell, Indiana. This fourteen hundred acre farm is owner-operated…1937House and outbuildings on William Weltis' farm near B…Farmhouse on C.V. Hibbs' eighty-acre farm near Boswell, Benton County, Indiana. This farm is owner-operated, but carrie…1937Farmhouse on C.V. Hibbs' eighty-acre farm near Boswel…House on William Keefe's owner-operated farm near Boswell, Benton County, Indiana. Three hundred twenty acres, heavily …1937House on William Keefe's owner-operated farm near Bos…Barn and only horse on C.V. Hibbs' eighty-acre farm near Boswell, Benton County, Indiana. This farm is owner-operated, …1937Barn and only horse on C.V. Hibbs' eighty-acre farm n…
1940s–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
Date unknown1 to date
Corn crib benton 8c51184rDate?Corn crib benton 8c51184r
Today4 recent
Grain ElevatorP51602192016Grain ElevatorP5160219Boswell P51602172016Boswell P5160217KB&S Chase to2007KB&S Chase toBoswell, Indiana watertower2007Boswell, Indiana watertower
On the map

Boswell on the map, 1962 to 1990

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

Boswell on the 1962 USGS mapBoswell on the 1980 USGS mapBoswell on the 1990 USGS map1962Boswell 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 Boswell.

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.

Corn crib on William Weltis' farm near Boswell, Indiana
Retake this viewCorn crib on William Weltis' farm near Boswell, Indiana, 1937

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Boswell, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 998

Between 330 and 998 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Boswell

Nobody well known was born in Boswell itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Robert KeithAmerican actor · b. 1898
Matilde MoisantAmerican aviator · b. 1878
B
Burton Y. BerryAmerican diplomat · b. 1901
William R. WoodAmerican politician · b. 1861
Otis JohnsonAmerican baseball player · b. 1883
B
Bill DagueAmerican football player and coach · b. 1885
Help out

Finish Boswell’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewCorn crib on William Weltis' farm near …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Boswell’s history

What year was Boswell founded?

The Boswell post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1872.

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 (5), the Library of Congress (9), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.