Its Register listings are the Enos Michael House and the Erastus and Louise Farnham House and Barn. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1837.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Fremont’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fremont is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns. 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’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’s 14.2 sits above most of its state (66% 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 (±6.6 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’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.
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, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The Republican Party and its presidential candidates1856 · page 492Read the page →
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they momentarily expected the British fleet. Commodore Sloat remained live days before the town, and until he heard of Fremont's operations ; then believing that Fremont had orders from his government to take California, he having none himself, he determined to act liimself. He received the news of Fremont's successes on the 6th day of July : on the Vth he took the town of Montei'ey, and sent a despatch to Fremont. The latter came to him
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Steuben County, Indiana, together with... biographies of representative citizens1885 · page 552Read the page →
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The first frame building in Fremont Township was a barn. It was built for Jeremiah Tillitson, by Thomas Knott. The barn afterward came into the possession of John Kaufman, who lives three miles southeast of the village of Fremont. In 1844 the frame of the first church (Methodist) was raised. There was some trouble about the title to the land, so the frame was moved to its present location. The building was not completed until 1851. At the first quarterly meeting the congregation used the sleepers for
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The Republican Party and its presidential candidates1856 · page 495Read the page →
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"Leaving a small garrison at Sanoma, Colonel Fremont went to the Sacramento to rouse the American settlers; but scarcely had he arrived there, when an express reached him from the garrison at Sanoma, with information that Castro's whole force was crossing the bay to attack that place. This intelhgence was received in the afternoon of the 23d of June, while he was on the American fork of the Sacramento, eighty miles from the little garrison at Sa-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A guide to the local history of Fremont, Ohio, prior to 18601905Read the page →
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What and where was the first church in Fremont? The M. E. Church, first services of which were held in the old log school house. In 1834, after this building was burned, tlie congregation built on the southwest corner of Arch and Garrison streets, land therefor being donated by David Gallagher. It v/as a tuo-story frame building, not large, and was occupied in 1S35.
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, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Fremont, census by census
Between 392 and 2,138 people in every census since 1870.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Fremont’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and burying grounds
Fremont’s post office has been open since 1848. Another post office, Brockville, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Brockville
1837–1848
Fremont
1848–today
18301930today
1cemetery inside Fremont
The Old
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Fremont’s history
What year was Fremont founded?
In 1834, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Fremont’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1870 counted 392 people here.
How does Fremont rank for history?
Fremont is more historic than 81% 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 Fremont?
Two places: the Enos Michael House (listed 1982) and the Erastus and Louise Farnham House and Barn (2022).
How old are the homes in Fremont?
19% of Fremont’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.6 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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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, 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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