More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #520 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Most of Jackson Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Below: maps from 1957 on and old-book passages.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1872.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Jackson Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jackson Township is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #520 of 593 in Indiana. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jackson Township’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 Jackson 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 1851.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 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 Jackson Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Jackson was located 3.5 miles north of Tipton, Indiana. The village was founded around the building of a saw mill, which operated on steam, by Newton J. Jackson and George Kane in 1851. In 1854, the Peru and Indianapolis Railroad was completed and a train station was built in Jackson. The village grew around the increased number of shipments that were processed at the station. Elijah C. Elliott opened a general store in the village after 1865. Elliott also had a factory that made "staves and heading". By 1914, the railroad station was closed. At that time, a school and church still existed in the village.
Passages that mention Jackson Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Jackson Township, Sullivan County, Indiana1915Read the page →
Read the text
Township practically all her life and has seen it change from a forest of heavy timber abounding with wild game to the Jackson Township of 1915. At that time there were no churches in the township and but one school house. This was made of logs and stood on the ground)
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.
Timeline
Jackson Township, 1851 to 1957
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Jackson Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1957Auburn 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 Jackson Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Jackson Township
Nobody well known was born in Jackson Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1851, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Jackson Township’s post office opened in 1872.
How does Jackson Township rank for history?
Jackson Township is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #520 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 Jackson Township?
7% of Jackson Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1996.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
