Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1837.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Fremont Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fremont Township is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #224 of 593 in Indiana. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fremont Township’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 Fremont Township’s 10.3 sits near the middle of its state (63% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.6 points). Two sources give 1834.
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 Fremont Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fremont was first settled in 1834 under the name Willow Prairie. It became the Village of Brockville when it was platted in 1837. In 1848, it was renamed to honor John C. Frémont, "the Great Pathfinder", in part because there was already a Brockville in Indiana.
A post office was established under the name Brockville in 1837, and was renamed to Fremont in 1848. The post office is currently in operation.
In 1914, the first hospital in Steuben County was opened in Fremont by Dr. Wade.
Passages that mention Fremont Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Steuben County, Indiana, together with... biographies of representative citizens1885 · page 576Read the page →
Read the text
and one year with others. In 1851 he came to Steuben County, Ind., and was twenty-eight days on the road, having to ford streams, there being but few bridges or public roads. He located in Fremont Township, and worked at his trade two years. In 1853 he went to Elkhart and remained eight years. In 1861 he moved to Coldwater, Mich., and in 1863 came again to Fremont and worked at his trade two years. He then engaged in farming eleven years, and in 1876 came to Fremont and embarked in the
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
Fremont Township, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fremont Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1939Angola East 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 Fremont 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.
Retake this viewFremont, Indiana 1876, 1876
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Fremont Township’s page.
In 1834, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Fremont Township’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1870 counted 392 people here.
How does Fremont Township rank for history?
Fremont Township is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #224 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 Fremont Township?
19% of Fremont Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1987.
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 (12), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
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