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Main Street in downtown Hobart, IndianaPhoto: Dennisyerger84 · CC BY-SA 3.0
A−History
History · Hobart Township

Hobart Township’s post office opened in 1847, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #246 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it

5 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1880.

1847first post office
5on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Hobart Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Hobart Township began

When was Hobart Township founded?

1847

The Hobart Township post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1889.

First census: 600 in 18802020 census: 40,652179 years

How historic is Hobart Township?

A−

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Hobart Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1889.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Hobart Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hobart Township is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #246 of 593 in Indiana. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hobart Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1847, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194011.9% of homes (±2.4) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register5 listings, 43 historic buildings, 10.7 per 10,000 residents · typical IN town 7.9 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 78%
NewerOlder
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 59%

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 Hobart Township’s 10.7 sits near the middle of its state (64% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 43 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1889.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Hobart 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 writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19005 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1991. Watch Hobart Township change.Deep rootsA post office since 1847: 179 years of Hobart Township.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hobart Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view4th Street: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Hobart Township on the map, 1900 to 1991

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

Hobart Township on the 1900 USGS mapHobart Township on the 1953 USGS mapHobart Township on the 1968 USGS mapHobart Township on the 1980 USGS mapHobart Township on the 1991 USGS map1900Tolleston sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hobart Township.

The story

How Hobart Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hobart Township.

Read it all →

Hobart was platted in 1849. George Earle, an English immigrant, bought land from the Potawatomi Native American tribe, who built a dam on Deep River, creating Lake George. He named the settlement that later developed into Hobart, after his brother, Frederick Hobart Earle, who never left England. The first school of the city was built in 1878.

Hobart was incorporated as a town in 1889 and reincorporated as a city in 1921.

The First Unitarian Church of Hobart, Hobart Carnegie Library Hobart Commercial District, and Pennsylvania Railroad Station are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Lake George Commercial Historic District is noted locally. Hobart is also the site of several WPA projects, including a post office.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Hobart Township in 1915

Passages that mention Hobart Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Hobart Township was the first to be formed from old North, but although this occurred in 1849 it did not substantially reach its present area until 1883. Its original boundaries were slightly changed by the county commissioners on December 6, 1853, but until thirty years later its territory was vir…
A standard history of Lake County, Indiana, and the Calumet region1915 · page 168Read the page →
Read the text

Hobart Township was the first to be formed from old North, but although this occurred in 1849 it did not substantially reach its present area until 1883. Its original boundaries were slightly changed by the county commissioners on December 6, 1853, but until thirty years later its territory was virtually confined to what would now be the south line of the incorporated Town of Hobart and the Little Calumet River. On March 9, 1883, its territory was again changed, sections 1 and 2, township 35, being given to it from Ross Township and its western boundary,

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.

By decade

Hobart Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s4 items
4th Street19094th StreetCenter St1909Center StMain St1909Main StLake St1909Lake St
1910s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today20 recent
Lake George, circa 19652007Lake George, circa 1965PostcardLake George, 19102007Lake George, 1910PostcardLake George, 19072007Lake George, 1907PostcardHigh School, 19142007High School, 1914PostcardGreetings from Hobart, circa 19102007Greetings from Hobart, circa 1910PostcardGeneric Postcard from Hobart, 19192007Generic Postcard from Hobart, 1919PostcardEvangelical Lutheran Church, circa 19102007Evangelical Lutheran Church, circa 1910PostcardCountry Lounge Restaurant and Cocktail Bar, 19702007Country Lounge Restaurant and Cocktail Bar, 1970PostcardAt Lake George, circa 19102007At Lake George, circa 1910PostcardHobart-lakefront-gazebo2006Hobart-lakefront-gazeboWater Works and Electric Light Plant, circa 19102006Water Works and Electric Light Plant, circa 1910PostcardThe Oldest House in Hobart, 19082006The Oldest House in Hobart, 1908PostcardThe Old Mill, 19112006The Old Mill, 1911PostcardThe Bayou, circa 19302006The Bayou, circa 1930PostcardRailway Bridge, Lake George, 19092006Railway Bridge, Lake George, 1909PostcardNorth on Main Street, 19072006North on Main Street, 1907PostcardHobart House, 19112006Hobart House, 1911PostcardGreetings from Hobart, circa 19102006Greetings from Hobart, circa 1910PostcardFirst Methodist Episcopal Church, 19092006First Methodist Episcopal Church, 1909PostcardAugustana Lutheran Church, Kelly and Hickey Streets, circa 19652006Augustana Lutheran Church, Kelly and Hickey Streets, …Postcard
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.

4th Street
Retake this view4th Street, 1909

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Hobart Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

5 listings protect 43 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
43
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Hobart Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,0001880190019201940196019802000202029,752

Grew from 600 people in 1880 to 29,752 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Calumet Township32 historic placesB+Ross Township3 historic placesC+Gary29 historic placesBHobart5 historic placesA−Lake StationIts storyC−Union TownshipIts storyC−Merrillville2 historic placesBPortage Township4 historic placesC−

Questions about Hobart Township’s history

What year was Hobart Township founded?

The Hobart Township post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1889.

How does Hobart Township rank for history?

Hobart Township is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #246 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 Hobart Township?

12% of Hobart Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1967.

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 Wikimedia Commons (20), the Library of Congress (4), 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.