On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dunlap is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #566 of 593 in Indiana. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dunlap’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 Dunlap’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.
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 is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 points).
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 Dunlap’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A post office was established at Dunlap in 1886, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1902.
On Palm Sunday 1965, deadly twin tornadoes would hit the Dunlap area, specifically the Sunnyside subdivision and the Midway Trailer Park. The tornadoes would end up Killing a combined total of 67 and injuring a combined total of 573. Days later, President Lyndon B. Johnson would end up visiting Dunlap. Both tornadoes would be given a rating of F4
Passages that mention Dunlap, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A standard history of Elkhart County, Indiana1916 · page 73Read the page →
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seat. Two days later they met at the same place, and reported that they had selected the southwest quarter of section 24, township 37 north of range 5 east. The tract specified was at the present station of Dunlap, on the New York Central Railroad, a short distance north of the Elkhart River, and nearly opposite the county asylum on the south shores of the stream. As there was no county government at the time the commissioners held their meeting after they had selected the site, they could only report to themselves, and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Elkhart county, Indiana1881 · page 785Read the page →
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Evangelical Church. — Middleport is a small village situated near Dunlap station, about five miles from Elkhart, on what is known as the "Elkhart and Goshen road." The Evangelical Church at this place was built in 1866, by "Wm. Eisenbeiss; Stanton Stevonsc n and Michael Weaver (now deceased"), trustees. The principal contributors were Charles Hate, Benjamin Weaver, Wm.
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.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
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Dunlap is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #566 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 Dunlap?
4% of Dunlap’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.
