Greensburg dates to 1822, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 90% of U.S. towns · #145 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
7 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 67 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1883 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1823.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Greensburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Greensburg is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #145 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 Greensburg’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 Greensburg’s 62.1 sits above most of its state (77% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 76 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 points). Two sources give 1822.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Greensburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Greensburg, building by building, 1883–1913
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.
Greensburg was laid out in 1822 by Col Thomas Hendricks, a veteran of the War of 1812.
Michigan Road was completed in 1837, bringing more people to settle and visit the growing town. After the Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and St. Louis Railroad was completed in 1853, the town boomed. Agriculture, foundries, millineries, wholesale grocers, and other businesses took advantage of Greenburg's strategic rail position.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, race relations in Greensburg worsened, leading to the expulsion of African Americans from the city after race riots against them in 1906 and 1907. According to James W. Loewen, Greensburg then was for decades a sundown town, a town that was purposely all-white.
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.
In 1822, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Greensburg’s post office opened in 1823, and the census of 1850 counted 1,202 people here.
How does Greensburg rank for history?
Greensburg is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #145 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 Greensburg?
7 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Decatur County Courthouse (listed 1973, the first), and 1 historic district, the Greensburg Downtown Historic District, with 67 contributing buildings. 76 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Greensburg?
23% of Greensburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1973.
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), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (7), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2005
