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History · Decker

Decker dates to 1869, and 45% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1915 on, and the census since 1930.

1869founded
0on the National Register
45%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Decker’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Decker began

When was Decker founded?

1869

Decker dates its founding to 1869 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 468 in 19302020 census: 199157 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1858.

What stands out about Decker’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Decker’s homes were built before 1944.On the map since 19154 editions of the USGS map, 1915 to 1980. Watch Decker change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Decker’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Decker’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewPhotos of: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Decker, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Decker yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Decker is a town in Johnson Township, Knox County, Indiana, United States. The population was 199 at the 2020 census. It was founded in 1869 by Isaac Decker. Decker is near the White River, and is well known for the watermelon and cantaloupe produced in the surrounding rural area.

Decker was established in 1869. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 249 to 199 (-20%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

On the map

Decker on the map, 1915 to 1980

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Decker. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Decker on the 1915 USGS mapDecker on the 1944 USGS mapDecker on the 1961 USGS mapDecker on the 1980 USGS map1915Vincennes sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Decker.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Decker in 1895

Passages that mention Decker, cut from the printed page as they were published.

In 1790 Joseph Decker sold to Samuel Decker all his lands about Deckertown, consisting of several parcels beginning at a ditch at Decker's spring, and running by the potash works. This serves to establish the identity of the original Decker homestead upon the late Amos Munson property.
History of Deckertown1895Read the page →
Read the text

In 1790 Joseph Decker sold to Samuel Decker all his lands about Deckertown, consisting of several parcels beginning at a ditch at Decker's spring, and running by the potash works. This serves to establish the identity of the original Decker homestead upon the late Amos Munson property.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Bowuewme Decker was the purchaser. His deed dated April 9th, 1827, recites of one of the parcels of land "that it lay southeast of the foregoing tracts of land near the road leading to the Babbitt Meeting house near the Pepocotting late in the possession of Samuel Decker and whereon he erected a ne…
History of Deckertown1895Read the page →
Read the text

Bowuewme Decker was the purchaser. His deed dated April 9th, 1827, recites of one of the parcels of land "that it lay southeast of the foregoing tracts of land near the road leading to the Babbitt Meeting house near the Pepocotting late in the possession of Samuel Decker and whereon he erected a new frame

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.

Timeline

Decker, 1858 to 1915

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Post officeThe Decker's Station post office opens
  3. 1869
    FoundingDecker is established
  4. 1882Post officeThe Decker's Station post office closes
  5. 1882Post officeThe Decker post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1915On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Decker, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Photos ofDate?Photos of
Today2 recent
Decker community center2024Decker community centerDecker, Indiana2016Decker, Indiana
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.

Photos of
Retake this viewPhotos of

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Decker’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Decker, census by census

010020030040050019401960198020002020Peak: 468

Between 199 and 468 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Decker’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Decker

Nobody well known was born in Decker itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
John Watson FosterAmerican lawyer, politician and diplomat · b. 1836
Robert RidgwayAmerican ornithologist · b. 1850
Jackie YoungAmerican basketball player · b. 1997
Clyde LovelletteAmerican basketball player · b. 1929
Melba PhillipsAmerican physicist and science educator · b. 1907
The Amazing CriswellAmerican psychic · b. 1907
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Decker’s post office has been open since 1882. Another post office, Decker's Station, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Decker's Station
1858–1882
Decker
1882–today
18501940today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.

Johnson TownshipIts storyBDecker TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Decker’s history

What year was Decker founded?

In 1869, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Decker’s post office opened in 1858, and the census of 1930 counted 468 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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 (3), 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 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.