Most of Hardinsburg was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: maps from 1947 on and the census since 1870.
Hardinsburg was laid out in 1838 by Aaron Hardin, and named for him. Aaron Hardin operated the first store in Hardinsburg and had kept store for several years before the town was started. Hardinsburg was incorporated as a town in 1849. The town was situated directly on the historic Buffalo Trace (present day U.S. Highway 150) between the Ohio River at Louisville and the Wabash River at Vincennes, which saw countless settlers pass through on wagon trains heading westward.
The Hardinsburg post office has been in operation since 1838.
Passages that mention Hardinsburg, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Centennial history of Washington County, Indiana1916 · page 597Read the page →
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In January, 1838, Aaron Hardin laid off the town of Hardinsburg, naming it for himself. The original plat consisted of thirty-six lots in section 3. John Ellis added twenty-two lots in 185 1. On March 24, 1849, the town was incorporated, with A. H. Cheever, president; James Alexander, clerk, and J. ,C. Boyden, treasurer. It was incorporated under the state's statute of 1833.
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Centennial history of Washington County, Indiana1916 · page 592Read the page →
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The old Vincennes and Ohio Falls trail passed through Posey township, and it was along this trail the hrst white men located within the present borders of the county. Thomas Hopper settled a short distance north of Hardinsburg in 1803. He was probably the only white man living between the Ohio river and Vincennes. He had no neighbors but Indians and managed to keep on good terms with them. Thomas Poison was the first settler in the township, locating near where the old town of Fredericksburg was mapped out. He came in 1805, when he. Hopper and Spurgeon, up near the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2016
