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B−History
History · Grant Township

Grant Township dates to 1868, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 51% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1962 on and the census since 1890.

1868founded
0on the National Register
36%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Grant Township began

When was Grant Township founded?

1868

Grant Township dates its founding to 1868 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 1,331 in 18902020 census: 1,085158 years

How historic is Grant Township?

B−

More historic than 51% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1870.
History grade

What drives Grant Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Grant Township is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Grant Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1868, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194035.8% of homes (±5.0) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%ANational RegisterNo listings counted · typical IN town 7.9 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 51%
NewerOlder

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 Grant 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.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1868.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.0 points).

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 Grant 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 writtenNo old photos of Grant Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,547 in 1900; 1,085 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Grant Township’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Grant Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Grant Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,547

Peaked at 1,547 in 1900; 1,085 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story so far

Grant Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Grant Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Grant Township is one of eleven townships in Benton County, Indiana. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,085 and it contained 470 housing units. It was organized in December 1868 and was named for Ulysses Grant.

Grant Township was established in 1868. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,056 to 1,085 (+3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Grant Township, 1868 to 1962

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868
    FoundingGrant Township is established
  3. 1873Post officeThe Chase post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 1,547
  6. 1918Post officeThe Chase post office closes
  7. 1962On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Grant Township on the map, 1962 to 1990

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

Grant Township on the 1962 USGS mapGrant Township on the 1980 USGS mapGrant Township on the 1990 USGS map1962Boswell 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 Grant Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Grant Township

Nobody well known was born in Grant Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Robert KeithAmerican actor · b. 1898
Matilde MoisantAmerican aviator · b. 1878
B
Burton Y. BerryAmerican diplomat · b. 1901
William R. WoodAmerican politician · b. 1861
Otis JohnsonAmerican baseball player · b. 1883
B
Bill DagueAmerican football player and coach · b. 1885
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Chase, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Chase
Gone or out of use
Clifton Airportairport
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Grant Township
BoswellPerigoSmith

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Oak Grove Township4 historic placesA+Hickory Grove TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Grant Township’s history

What year was Grant Township founded?

In 1868, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Grant Township’s post office opened in 1870, and the census of 1890 counted 1,331 people here.

How does Grant Township rank for history?

Grant Township is more historic than 51% 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 Grant Township?

36% of Grant Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1957.

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 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.