Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 62% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1958 on.
Cass Township was named for Lewis Cass, Democratic candidate in the 1848 United States presidential election.
More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cass Township is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Cass 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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cass Township’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Cass Township.
Cass Township was established in 1848. It was named for Lewis Cass, Democratic candidate in the 1848 United States presidential election.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cass Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Cass Township.
Nobody well known was born in Cass Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Cass Township is more historic than 62% 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.
36% of Cass Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.7 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1968.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.
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