Fortville dates to 1865, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 58% of U.S. towns · #345 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Browne-Rafert House, the Fortville Carnegie Library and the Fortville Methodist Episcopal Church. Below: maps from 1895 on and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1851.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Fortville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fortville is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #345 of 593 in Indiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fortville’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 Fortville’s 10.0 sits near the middle of its state (62% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.3 points). Two sources give 1865.
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 Fortville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
When settlers first arrived in the area, the Miami peoples and possibly Shawnee inhabited the area that is now Fortville. One of the most influential early settlers was Francis Kincade, he owned 24 lots right where the Greenfield-Noblesville Pike (Old SR 238/Southeastern Parkway/Merrill Street) and Main Street. (Now US 36/State Road 67) There were well established roads on his property as early as 1826.
The settlement that became Fortville was originally named Phoebe Fort before it was changed to Walpole after a Greenfield politician named Thomas D. Walpole. Under the latter name was laid out and platted in 1849. It was named for Cephas Fort, the original owner of the town site. Fortville was incorporated as a town in 1865.
In 1865, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Fortville’s post office opened in 1851, and the census of 1870 counted 387 people here.
How does Fortville rank for history?
Fortville is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #345 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.
What is on the National Register in Fortville?
Three places: the Browne-Rafert House (listed 2015), the Fortville Carnegie Library (2024) and the Fortville Methodist Episcopal Church (2024).
How old are the homes in Fortville?
15% of Fortville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.3 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1982.
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 (6), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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