Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns · #3 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
6 places in town are on the National Register. Below: maps from 1960 on and old-book passages.
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jackson Township is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #3 of 593 in Indiana. All 2 inputs put Jackson Township near the top nationally; its National Register listings ranks highest.
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 1,374 sits above most of its state (99% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 586 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Jackson Township’s history is told.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Jackson Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Jackson Township is one of fifteen townships in Wayne County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 4,660 and it contained 2,136 housing units.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 4,660 to 4,320 (-7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Jackson Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
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.
value of real estate in Cambridge City in 1882 was $421,600, and the assessed valuation of personal property was $295,926, being a total assessed valuation of $720,526. This wealth of the towns of Jackson Township gives her the position of second in importance in the county. It is not the oldest
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
to his brother George, and gave his whole attention to his farm. He owns 450 acres of choice land adjoining Cambridge City, and is one of the most extensive wheat and corn growers and hog-raisers in Jackson Township. In 1863 Mr. Callaway was elected President of the Cambridge City Bank, which was subsequently merged into the First National Bank. He continued President of the new organization till 1873, when on account of financial embarrassment, he was obliged to dis-
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.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs 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.
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.
Nobody well known was born in Jackson Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Jackson Township is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #3 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.
38% of Jackson Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1954.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
