The story
Read it all →How Hamblen Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Hamblen Township.
Hamblen Township was named for Job Hamblen, a pioneer settler.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · Hamblen Township
Half of Hamblen Township’s homes were built after 1980
More historic than 19% of U.S. towns · #543 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Most of Hamblen Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: maps from 1948 on and the census since 1890.
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
About Hamblen Township’s history
How historic is Hamblen Township?
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What drives the grade ↓More historic than 19% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Hamblen Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hamblen Township is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #543 of 593 in Indiana. 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 Hamblen Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19405.8% of homes (±3.4) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%CNational 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 19%
NewerOlder
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 8%
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 Hamblen 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 (±3.4 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 Hamblen Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost villages5 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Hamblen Township, and 6 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Hamblen Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1890 and 1930, then grew 4-fold.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Mount Moriah
Cleona
Spearsville
Ramelton
Peoga
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Cordry Sweetwater LakesGatesvillePeogaSpearsvilleSweetwater LakeTaggart
Gone or out of use
Mount Moriah Post Officepost officeRamelton Post Officepost office
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Hamblen Township
AndersonCalvinDuncanMount MoriahTaylorZion Church
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Hamblen Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hamblen Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Hamblen Township, census by census
Lost half of its people between 1890 and 1930, then grew 4-fold.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hamblen Township’s Wikipedia page.
Timeline
Hamblen Township, 1850 to 2000
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1850Post officeThe Mount Moriah post office opens
- 1855Post officeThe Cleona post office opens
- 1855Post officeThe Spearsville post office opens
- 20th century
- 1903Post officeThe Cleona post office closes
- 1905Post officeThe Mount Moriah post office closes
- 1907Post officeThe Spearsville post office closes
- 1948
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 21st century
- 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 4,591
By decade
Hamblen Township, decade by decade
Today1 recent
2010On the map
Hamblen Township on the map, 1948 to 1980
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hamblen Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1948Fruitdale sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hamblen Township.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Hamblen Township
Nobody well known was born in Hamblen Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Hamblen Township’s history
How does Hamblen Township rank for history?
Hamblen Township is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #543 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.
How old are the homes in Hamblen Township?
6% of Hamblen Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1980.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (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.