The story
Read it all →How Carter Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Carter Township.
Carter Township was named for Thomas Carter, a county commissioner.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B−History
History · Carter Township
1 of Carter Township’s places is on the National Register
More historic than 52% of U.S. towns · #368 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Most of Carter Township was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 1890.
1on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
About Carter Township’s history
How historic is Carter Township?
B−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 52% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Carter Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Carter Township is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #368 of 593 in Indiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Carter Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19405.0% of homes (±2.2) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 8 historic buildings, 24.8 per 10,000 residents · typical IN town 7.9 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 52%
NewerOlder
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 38%
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 Carter Township’s 24.8 sits above most of its state (68% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 8 historic buildings outnumber those of 74% 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 (±2.2 points) is firm at this size.
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 Carter Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Carter Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19003 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1980. Watch Carter Township change.A National Historic Landmark1 place on the National Register, including Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Carter Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Carter Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Carter Township on the map, 1900 to 1980
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Carter Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1900St Meinrad sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Carter Township.
On the National Register
1 listing protects 8 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmark
1
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial
historic buildings protected
8
each building in a district counts
first listed
1966
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial
Districts★ landmark
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Timeline
Carter Township, 1862 to 1962
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1862Post officeThe Mariah Hill post office opens
- 1892Post officeThe Lincoln City post office opens
- 20th century
- 1900
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1953Post officeThe Lincoln City post office closes
- 1960LandmarkLincoln Boyhood National Memorial named a National Historic Landmark
- 1962
BuiltLincoln Boyhood National Memorial is built
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumPeople over time
Carter Township, census by census
Between 1,991 and 3,258 people in every census since 1890.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Carter Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Carter Township
Nobody well known was born in Carter Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
B
Bumper TormohlenAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1937
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Another post office, Lincoln City, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Mariah Hill
Lincoln City
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Lincoln CityMariah Hill
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Carter Township
Mary Help of Christians ChurchPinkstonRichardson
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Carter Township’s history
How does Carter Township rank for history?
Carter Township is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #368 of 593 in Indiana. 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.
What is on the National Register in Carter Township?
One place: the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial (listed 1966).
How old are the homes in Carter Township?
5% of Carter Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.