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AHistory
History · French Lick Township

French Lick Township’s post office opened in 1847, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 86% of U.S. towns · #179 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it

9 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1951 on, and the census since 1900.

1847first post office
9on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From French Lick Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How French Lick Township began

When was French Lick Township founded?

1847

The French Lick Township post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name. Four smaller post offices, New Prospect (1851), Lick Creek (1872) and Abydel (1889), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 260 in 19002020 census: 4,576179 years

How historic is French Lick Township?

A

More historic than 86% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first French Lick Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives French Lick Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, French Lick Township is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #179 of 593 in Indiana. 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 French Lick Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1847, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194018.3% of homes (±4.7) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register9 listings, 27 historic buildings, 58.9 per 10,000 residents · typical IN town 7.9 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 86%
NewerOlder
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 70%

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 French Lick Township’s 58.9 sits above most of its state (76% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 27 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 French Lick Township’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s French Lick Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,462 in 1930; 1,722 people lived here in 2020.Landmarks on the Register9 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start French Lick Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how French Lick Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFrench Lick Springs Hotel: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

New Prospect
1851–1853
Lick Creek
1872–1889
Abydel
1889–1907
Roland
1892–1906
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AbydelProspectRoland
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside French Lick Township
Mount LebanonPythianSulphur Creek

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

People over time

French Lick Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,462

Peaked at 2,462 in 1930; 1,722 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How French Lick Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of French Lick Township.

Read it all →

French Lick was originally a French trading post built near a spring and salt lick. A fortified ranger post was established near the springs in 1811. On Johnson's 1837 map of Indiana, the community was known as Salt Spring. The town was founded in 1857. French Lick's post office has been in operation since 1847.

The sulfur springs were commercially exploited for medical benefits starting in 1840. By the latter half of the 19th century, French Lick was famous in the United States as a spa town. In the early 20th century it also featured casinos attracting celebrities such as boxer Joe Louis, composer Irving Berlin, and gangster Al Capone.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

French Lick Township, 1812 to 1951

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1812In the archiveFort French Lick 1812
  3. 1851Post officeThe New Prospect post office opens
  4. 1853Post officeThe New Prospect post office closes
  5. 1872Post officeThe Lick Creek post office opens
  6. 1889Post officeThe Lick Creek post office closes
  7. 1889Post officeThe Abydel post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1900In the archiveFrench Lick Springs Hotel
  10. 1907Post officeThe Abydel post office closes
  11. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 2,462
  12. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

French Lick Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1810s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1810s1 item
Fort French Lick 18121812Fort French Lick 1812Document
1900s2 items
French Lick Springs Hotel1900French Lick Springs HotelPlutoSpring19031903PlutoSpring1903
1910s–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
Today15 recent
Columbia Township, IN, USA - panoramio (15)2013Columbia Township, IN, USA - panoramio (15)Columbia Township, IN, USA - panoramio (14)2013Columbia Township, IN, USA - panoramio (14)Columbia Township, IN, USA - panoramio (1)2013Columbia Township, IN, USA - panoramio (1)French Lick Sandstone Company, circa 1965 - Advertising Postcard2012French Lick Sandstone Company, circa 1965 - Advertisi…PostcardPluto-water2011Pluto-waterWorld Famous Pluto Spring, French Lick, Indiana 032009World Famous Pluto Spring, French Lick, Indiana 03World Famous Pluto Spring, French Lick, Indiana 022009World Famous Pluto Spring, French Lick, Indiana 02World Famous Pluto Spring, French Lick, Indiana 012009World Famous Pluto Spring, French Lick, Indiana 01Indiana Fall2009Indiana FallFrench Lick Trains - Passenger Car2009French Lick Trains - Passenger CarFrench Lick Trains - Caboose2009French Lick Trains - CabooseFrench Lick Indiana - 5 & 10 cent Souvenirs Toys Candy2009French Lick Indiana - 5 & 10 cent Souvenirs Toys CandyFrench Lick RR 352 Station2008French Lick RR 352 StationFrench Lick RR 345 Pullman2008French Lick RR 345 PullmanFrench Lick Bridge 20062006French Lick Bridge 2006
On the map

French Lick Township on the map, 1951 to 1993

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

French Lick Township on the 1951 USGS mapFrench Lick Township on the 1965 USGS mapFrench Lick Township on the 1980 USGS mapFrench Lick Township on the 1993 USGS map1951French Lick 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 French Lick 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.

French Lick Springs Hotel
Retake this viewFrench Lick Springs Hotel, 1900

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

9 historic places in French Lick Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
9
National Historic Landmark
1
none yet
historic buildings protected
27
each building in a district counts
first listed
2026
The Maples Farm
The Maples Farm
Buildings
All 1 listings
The Maples FarmBuilding · listed 2026

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Jackson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOrangeville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPaoli Township5 historic placesANorthwest TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGreenfield TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about French Lick Township’s history

What year was French Lick Township founded?

The French Lick Township post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does French Lick Township rank for history?

French Lick Township is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #179 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 French Lick Township?

9 listings: 1 building, among them the Maples Farm (listed 2026, the first). 27 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in French Lick Township?

18% of French Lick Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1973.

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 (17), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.