Most of Galena Township was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1958 on.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Galena Township is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Galena 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 Galena Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (22% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.4 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Galena Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Another post office, Hesston, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
BirchimHesstonHillsideSmithTee Lake
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Galena Township
FosterHeckman MemorialSaint John Kanty CatholicTeeter
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Galena Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Galena Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Galena Township is one of twenty-one townships in LaPorte County, Indiana. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,980 (up from 1,899 at 2010) and it contained 979 housing units. Galena Township was established in 1836.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,899 to 1,980 (+4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Galena Township, 1877 to 1990
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Galena Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1958Springville 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 Galena 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 viewSouth Shore Line train approaching North Fail Road, November 1989, 1989
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Galena Township’s page.
Galena Township is more historic than 26% 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.
How old are the homes in Galena Township?
10% of Galena Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.4 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
