9 of Center Township’s places are on the National Register
More historic than 66% of U.S. towns · #309 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Most of Center Township was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 1890.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Center Township is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #309 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 Center Township’s overall grade.
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 12.1 sits near the middle of its state (65% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 48 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% 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 (±1.8 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 Center Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
9
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
48
each building in a district counts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The story so far
Center Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Center Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Center Township is one of eleven townships in Lake County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 38,630, containing 15,192 housing units, up from 31,756 in 2010.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 31,756 to 38,630 (+22%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Center Township in 1915
Passages that mention Center Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A standard history of Lake County, Indiana, and the Calumet region1915 · page 180Read the page →
Read the text
Both Ross and St. John townships were set off from the north part of the original Center Township, at a meeting held by the county commissioners on June 8. 1848. The former took its name from William Ross, the settler who took up his claim in section 6, on the eastern side of Deep River. That tract was included in the Ross Township of 1849, 180
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A standard history of Lake County, Indiana, and the Calumet region1915 · page 144Read the page →
Read the text
The original Center Township of 1837 comprised what are now substa]itially the township by that name, as well as Winfield, Hanover, Ross and St. John. Winfield Township was its first territory to be taken away, in 1843 ; St. John and Ross w^ere sliced off from its northern area in 1848. and the county commissioners made a separate township of Hanover in 1853. Thus Center Township was reduced to its present area and form. As a whole, it may be said to Me a little southeast of the center of the county, and Crown Point, the county seat and the only
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Center Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1953Crown Point 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 Center Township.
People over time
Center Township, census by census
Grew from 2,894 people in 1890 to 38,630 in 2020, more than tenfold.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Center Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Center Township
Nobody well known was born in Center Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Center Township is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #309 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.
How old are the homes in Center Township?
9% of Center Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1987.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
![The original Center Township of 1837 comprised what are now substa]itially the township by that name, as well as Winfield, Hanover, Ross and St. John. Winfield Township was its first territory to be taken away, in 1843 ; St. John and Ross w^ere sliced off from its northern area in 1848. and the cou…](https://images.townratings.com/story/21272/bk-6c721aaf1a8163f9-l.jpg)
