The story
Read it all →How Cannelburg came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Cannelburg.
Cannelburg was platted in 1872, and named for the cannel coal mined in the area.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · Cannelburg
Cannelburg dates to 1872, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1880.
1872founded
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Cannelburg began
When was Cannelburg founded?
1872
Cannelburg dates its founding to 1872 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.
First census: 159 in 18802020 census: 176154 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1873.The full story ↓
What stands out about Cannelburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Cannelburg’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cannelburg’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Cannelburg, census by census
Peaked at 300 in 1910; 176 people lived here in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Cannelburg’s Wikipedia page.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Cannelburg in 1886
Passages that mention Cannelburg, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Knox and Daviess County, Indiana1886 · page 720Read the page →
Read the text
revenue, $3,000.57; special school revenue, $921.65. Veal Township has six frame school buildings, value $4,000; apparatus, $300; tuition revenue, $2,126.91; special school revenue, $1,237.- 27. The town of Cannelburg has one frame schoolhouse, value $800; apparatus, $50; tuition revenue, $704.45; special school, $60.05. The town of Montgomery has one frame schoolhouse, value $500; apparatus, $25; tuition revenue, $642.11; special school revenue, $85.68. The special school revenue of the city of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Knox and Daviess County, Indiana1886 · page 705Read the page →
Read the text
Cannelburg, one of the three incorporated towns of the county, was laid out by the Buckeye Cannel Coal Company — A. J. Shotwell, L. C. Harris, and Anthony Moots. September 26, 1872, ten blocks were platted, divided into 102 lots. An addition of forty-four lots was made to the place in 1884. The town of Cannelburg sprang into existence on account of the extensive operations of the Buckeye Cannel Coal Company. It has a population of 350, a good school, and is steadily growing. There are two
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
Cannelburg, 1872 to 1956
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1872FoundingCannelburg is established
- 1873Post officeThe Cannelburg post office opens
- 20th century
- 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 300
- 1956
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Cannelburg, decade by decade
2018
2018
2018
2018On the map
Cannelburg on the map, 1956 to 1974
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cannelburg. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1956Loogootee 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 Cannelburg.
Questions about Cannelburg’s history
What year was Cannelburg founded?
In 1872, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Cannelburg’s post office opened in 1873, and the census of 1880 counted 159 people here.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (4), 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.