Crown Point dates to 1834, and 9 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 73% of U.S. towns · #270 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Most of Crown Point was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. 9 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 37 buildings between them. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1845.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Crown Point’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Crown Point is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns, #270 of 593 in Indiana. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Crown Point’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 Crown Point’s 14.2 sits above most of its state (66% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 49 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1834.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). 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 Crown Point’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
On October 31, 1834, Solon Robinson and his family became the first settlers to stake a claim in the area that would eventually become Crown Point. In February 1837, Lake County was incorporated, with Liverpool, Indiana, as the county seat. Later that year, Solon Robinson funded a US$500 project to build a new wooden county courthouse in Crown Point, and the legislature was delighted to designate it as the county seat. It was not until 1868 that Crown Point was incorporated as a town.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1834, according to Wikidata. Crown Point’s post office opened in 1845, and the census of 1880 counted 1,708 people here.
How does Crown Point rank for history?
Crown Point is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns, #270 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 Crown Point?
9 listings: 8 buildings, among them the Lake County Courthouse (listed 1973, the first), 2 historic districts, the Crown Point Courthouse Square Historic District and the Crown Point Courthouse Square Historic District (Boundary Adjustment), with 37 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 49 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Crown Point?
8% of Crown Point’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1993.
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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (11), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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