3 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 245 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1850.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ferdinand’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ferdinand is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ferdinand’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 Ferdinand’s 1,046 sits above most of its state (98% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 246 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.3 points). Two sources give 1840.
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 Ferdinand’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Ferdinand was founded in 1840 by Fr. Joseph Kundek and was named after the Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria. The town was settled by mostly German-speaking people from central Europe. At one time Ferdinand was known as the wooden shoe village. At the end of the 19th century, Ferdinand contained many businesses, including a machine works, a brick works, brewery, several taverns, and a dairy.
In 1867, the Monastery of Immaculate Conception was founded in Ferdinand.
In 1906, the Ferdinand News was established as the local newspaper.
Just prior to World War II the Civilian Conservation Corps created the Ferdinand State Forest.
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.
1885Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
People over time
Ferdinand, census by census
Between 500 and 2,318 people in every census since 1880.
14 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Ferdinand’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Ferdinand’s history
What year was Ferdinand founded?
In 1840, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Ferdinand’s post office opened in 1850, and the census of 1880 counted 500 people here.
How does Ferdinand rank for history?
Ferdinand is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns. 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 Ferdinand?
Three places: the Dr. Alois Wollenmann House (listed 2013), the St. Ferdinand Parish Historic District (2020) and the Ferdinand Historic District (2024).
How old are the homes in Ferdinand?
18% of Ferdinand’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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), 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.
2013