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Elkhart, Indiana - Main StreetPhoto: Publichall · CC BY-SA 3.0
A−History
History · Elkhart Township

Elkhart Township dates to 1858, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns · #253 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it

7 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 37 old photos and papers, maps from 1959 on, and the census since 1860.

1858founded
7on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
37old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Elkhart Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Elkhart Township began

When was Elkhart Township founded?

1858

Elkhart Township dates its founding to 1858 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 1,439 in 18602020 census: 38,388168 years

How historic is Elkhart Township?

A−

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1832.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Elkhart Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Elkhart Township is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #253 of 593 in Indiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Elkhart Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1858, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194018.5% of homes (±2.7) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register7 listings, 760 historic buildings, 198 per 10,000 residents · typical IN town 7.9 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 76%
NewerOlder
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 57%

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 Elkhart Township’s 198 sits above most of its state (87% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 760 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1858.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Elkhart Township’s past

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

A town in old photos37 old photos, postcards and papers, 1910–1965.Landmarks on the Register7 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · By decade

Elkhart Township, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s34 items
Decamp bridge across Elkhart River1910Decamp bridge across Elkhart RiverL.S. & M.S. Bridge over Elkhart River1910L.S. & M.S. Bridge over Elkhart RiverScene on Pine Creek1910Scene on Pine CreekSt. Joe River Dam1910St. Joe River DamFrailey's Landing, St. Joe River1910Frailey's Landing, St. Joe RiverPine Creek bridge, Bristol Road1910Pine Creek bridge, Bristol RoadMain St. north from Franklin1910Main St. north from FranklinIsland Park and St. Joe River1910Island Park and St. Joe RiverAround the bend, St. Joe River1910Around the bend, St. Joe RiverThe biplane "Indiana" at Elkhart1911The biplane "Indiana" at ElkhartPresbyterian Church1911Presbyterian ChurchMasonic Temple1911Masonic TempleChautauqua1912ChautauquaChautauqua1912ChautauquaChautauqua1912ChautauquaChautauqua1912ChautauquaChautauqua1912ChautauquaTennis court, McNaughton Park1912Tennis court, McNaughton ParkHump pusher, L.S. & M.S. R. R1912Hump pusher, L.S. & M.S. R. RElkhart General Hospital1915Elkhart General HospitalBeardsley Monument1915Beardsley MonumentNorth Main St1915North Main StCentral fire station1915Central fire stationNorth Main St1915North Main StMain and High Streets1915Main and High StreetsMain and Marion Streets1915Main and Marion StreetsCorner Main & Harrison Sts1915Corner Main & Harrison StsSouth Main St1915South Main StTransfer station, Main St1915Transfer station, Main StMotor Hook and Ladder Truck1915Motor Hook and Ladder TruckBird's eye view, south1915Bird's eye view, southHomes on the old St. Joe1915Homes on the old St. JoeL.S. & M.S. Yards1915L.S. & M.S. YardsL.S. & M.S. Depot1915L.S. & M.S. Depot
1920s1 item
Mounting keys on saxophones in plant of H. & A. Selmer, Inc1920Mounting keys on saxophones in plant of H. & A. Selme…
1930s–1950snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
1960s2 items
1965 Elkhart Double Tornado-Palm Sunday19651965 Elkhart Double Tornado-Palm SundayThe Storming News1965The Storming News
1970s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today6 recent
Elkhart & Western Arriving at Its Yard-Elkhart IN2026Elkhart & Western Arriving at Its Yard-Elkhart INThe 1895 Gothic Revival-style Episcopal Church of St. John the Evangelist2016The 1895 Gothic Revival-style Episcopal Church of St.…Entrance to the municipal building, designed by noted Chicago architect E. Hill Turnock2016Entrance to the municipal building, designed by noted…Scene along the St. Joseph River2016Scene along the St. Joseph RiverMark L. and Harriet E. Monteith House site2012Mark L. and Harriet E. Monteith House siteRiverwalksnow2007Riverwalksnow
On the National Register

7 listings protect 760 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
7
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
760
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Elkhart Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Elkhart Township.

Read it all →

In 1829, the Village of Pulaski was established, consisting of a post office, mill, and a few houses on the north side of the St. Joseph River. Dr. Havilah Beardsley moved westward from Ohio, and on August 9, 1821, purchased one square mile of land from Pierre Moran (a half-French, half-Native American Potawatomi Chief) in order to establish a rival town named Elkhart. The town of Elkhart was first plotted with 48 lots on April 30, 1832. In 1839, the Pulaski Post Office was officially changed to Elkhart. Elkhart was incorporated as a town in 1858 and in 1875 as a city.

ChaptersInfrastructureName

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Elkhart Township in 1916

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

John Jackson, who purchased of Elias Riggs and William Simpson their claims on Elkhart Prairie in Jackson Township, and these two men then moved across the line into what is now the southeast comer of Elkhart Township, and became, in all probability, the first settlers in the township where Goshen …
A standard history of Elkhart County, Indiana1916 · page 63Read the page →
Read the text

John Jackson, who purchased of Elias Riggs and William Simpson their claims on Elkhart Prairie in Jackson Township, and these two men then moved across the line into what is now the southeast comer of Elkhart Township, and became, in all probability, the first settlers in the township where Goshen is now situated. Colonel Jackson had an interesting history, and was acquainted with this county long before he became an actual settler. He played a valiant part in the War of 1812 under General Harrison. After the British and

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Thompson estate, there founded, with its famous maple grove, descended to Hon. John E. Thompson, one of the foremost stockmen and public characters in Elkhart County. Nearer Goshen, in Elkhart Township, was W'aterford Mills, founded by Judge Elias Baker in 1833, and not far east was the farm of the…
A standard history of Elkhart County, Indiana1916 · page 187Read the page →
Read the text

Thompson estate, there founded, with its famous maple grove, descended to Hon. John E. Thompson, one of the foremost stockmen and public characters in Elkhart County. Nearer Goshen, in Elkhart Township, was W'aterford Mills, founded by Judge Elias Baker in 1833, and not far east was the farm of the Methodist circuit rider, while Major Violett's farm was to the north.

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

Elkhart Township, 1853 to 1965

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1853Post officeThe Waterford Mills post office opens
  3. 1858
    FoundingElkhart Township is established
  4. 20th century
  5. 1904Post officeThe Waterford Mills post office closes
  6. 1910In the archiveDecamp bridge across Elkhart River
  7. 1920In the archiveMounting keys on saxophones in plant of H. & A. Selmer, Inc
  8. 1959On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1965In the archive1965 Elkhart Double Tornado-Palm Sunday
On the map

Elkhart Township on the map, 1959 to 1981

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

Elkhart Township on the 1959 USGS mapElkhart Township on the 1981 USGS map1959Goshen sheet · 1:24,000

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

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.

Decamp bridge across Elkhart River
Retake this viewDecamp bridge across Elkhart River, 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Elkhart Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,00060,00019001950200053,923

Grew from 1,439 people in 1860 to 53,923 in 2020, more than tenfold.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Waterford Mills, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Waterford Mills
Gone or out of use
Brown Airportairport
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Elkhart Township
CripeHessSparklin

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Elkhart Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewDecamp bridge across Elkhart River: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Harrison Township2 historic placesAConcord Township14 historic placesAJefferson Township1 historic placeB−Clinton TownshipIts storyB−Jackson TownshipIts storyB

Questions about Elkhart Township’s history

What year was Elkhart Township founded?

In 1858, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Elkhart Township’s post office opened in 1832, and the census of 1860 counted 1,439 people here.

How does Elkhart Township rank for history?

Elkhart Township is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #253 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 Elkhart Township?

19% of Elkhart Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1978.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (5), the Library of Congress (38), Wikidata (3), 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 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.