Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 13% of U.S. towns · #576 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Most of DeMotte was built recently: 0.6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1957 on, and the census since 1970.
The DeMotte post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 13% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, DeMotte is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #576 of 593 in Indiana. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 DeMotte’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (22% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how DeMotte’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of DeMotte.
DeMotte was made a station by the New York Central Railroad when the line was extended to that point in the early 1880s. The DeMotte post office opened in 1882. DeMotte was named for Mark L. De Motte, a member of Congress at the time.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archiveMarkLDeMotte
Born hereCharles A. Halleck is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyOne decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
2020Calvary Church 2020-07-10 078
2020814 Demotte 2020-07-10 015
2018Westside 2018-10-05 054
2018Westside 2018-10-05 053
2018Eastside 2018-10-05 022
2018Eastside 2018-10-05 004
2018Demotte Elem School 2018-10-05 021
2018Demotte Elem School 2018-10-05 017
2018Demotte 2018-10-05 058
2018Demotte 2018-10-05 052
2018Demotte 2018-10-05 049
2018Demotte 2018-10-05 048
2018Demotte 2018-10-05 016
2018Church of Christ 2018-10-05 059
2016CCHS picture
20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBook
2007Demotte IndianaEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of DeMotte. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of DeMotte.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on DeMotte’s page.
Retake this view · +15Grew from 1,697 people in 1970 to 4,168 in 2020.
6 censuses, 1970–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on DeMotte’s Wikipedia page.
DeMotte’s post office has been open since 1882.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The DeMotte post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
DeMotte is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #576 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.
0.6% of DeMotte’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1993.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (18), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
