The story
Read it all →How Clay Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Clay Township.
Micah Newby House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
CHistory
History · Clay Township
4 of Clay Township’s places are on the National Register
More historic than 32% of U.S. towns · #463 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Most of Clay Township was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Below: maps from 1952 on.
4on the National Register
0.9%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
About Clay Township’s history
How historic is Clay Township?
C
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 32% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Clay Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clay Township is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #463 of 593 in Indiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clay Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19400.9% of homes (±0.4) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register4 listings, 26 historic buildings, 2.6 per 10,000 residents · typical IN town 7.9 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 32%
NewerOlder
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 22%
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Clay Township ranks #297 on History.
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 Clay Township’s 2.6 sits near the middle of its state (49% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 26 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at Clay Township’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
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 (±0.4 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 Clay Township’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 Clay Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Clay 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 National Register
4 listings protect 26 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
26
each building in a district counts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
By decade
Clay Township, decade by decade
Today1 recent
2020On the map
Clay Township on the map, 1952 to 1998
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Clay Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1952Carmel 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 Clay Township.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Clay Township
Nobody well known was born in Clay Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
P
Philip W. AndersonAmerican physicist · b. 1923
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Carmel4 historic placesCDelaware Township2 historic placesCFishers2 historic placesCZionsville5 historic placesC+Westfield Washington Township3 historic placesC+Washington Township28 historic placesAIndianapolis261 historic placesANoblesville13 historic placesA−Noblesville Township15 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about Clay Township’s history
How does Clay Township rank for history?
Clay Township is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #463 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 Clay Township?
0.9% of Clay Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1997.
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 Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.