The story
Read it all →How Center Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Center Township.
Andrew B. VanHuys Round Barn was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
AHistory
History · Center Township
16% of Center Township’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 90% of U.S. towns · #144 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 362 buildings. Below: maps from 1953 on and old-book passages.
6on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
Where Center Township’s name came from
How did Center Township get its name?
Center Township was named from its location at the geographic center of Boone County.
How historic is Center Township?
A
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 90% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Center Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Center Township is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #144 of 593 in Indiana. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Center Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194016.2% of homes (±4.2) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register6 listings, 468 historic buildings, 243 per 10,000 residents · typical IN town 7.9 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 90%
NewerOlder
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 76%
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 Center Township’s 243 sits above most of its state (89% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 468 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±4.2 points).
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 Center Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · On the National Register
6 listings protect 468 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
468
each building in a district counts
first listed
1997
Bloomington West Side Historic District
Districts
Architectural styles listings
Late Victorian: Queen Anne1
19th and 20th Century American Movements: Bungalow/Craftsman1
Gabled Ell1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Help out
Start Center Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Center Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.From the old history books
What they wrote about Center Township in 1874
Passages that mention Center Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The people's guide1874Read the page →
Read the text
Center Township lies very nearly in the center of the county. Its nieclianical outHnes, or borders, are of a pccuhar shape. It has the appearance of having once been much larger than it now is, but by degrees has been eaten into by other townships until it presents a jagged appearance on every side. It has no straight line running the full length of the township on any side. It is a matter of wonder to the mechanical engineer that counties and townships are not laid out in perfect squares, at
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.
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 albumOn the map
Center Township on the map, 1953 to 1979
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Center Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1953Lebanon 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 Center Township.
Places that used to be
Old corners and burying grounds
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Hazel CollegeStringtown
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Center Township
CenterDowdenRobison
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.
Harrison TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJefferson TownshipIts storyB−Jackson TownshipIts storyBLebanon4 historic placesA−Washington TownshipIts storyBZionsville5 historic placesC+Clinton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPerry Township1 historic placeC−Worth TownshipIts storyCMarion TownshipIts storyB
Questions about Center Township’s history
How does Center Township rank for history?
Center Township is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #144 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 Center Township?
6 listings: 1 historic district, the Bloomington West Side Historic District, with 362 contributing buildings. 468 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Center Township?
16% of Center Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1976.
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, 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.