The story
Read it all →How Colburn came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Colburn.
A post office was established at Colburn in 1860, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1988.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Huw Williams (Huwmanbeing) · Public domain–Not graded
History · Colburn
Colburn’s post office opened in 1860, and 78% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: 3 old photos and papers and maps from 1962 on.
1860first post office
0on the National Register
78%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Quick answers
How Colburn began
When was Colburn founded?
1860
The Colburn post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name.
2020 census: 164166 years
Founding year: the first Colburn post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Colburn’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 Colburn’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Colburn’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.By decade
Colburn, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1878
1879
1879
2006On the map
Colburn on the map, 1962 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Colburn. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1962Delphi 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 Colburn.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewColburn, Indiana 1878, 1878
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Colburn’s page.
Retake this view · +15Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Colburn
Nobody well known was born in Colburn itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Questions about Colburn’s history
What year was Colburn founded?
The Colburn post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (4), 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.