Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1951 on and old-book passages.
Jefferson Township dates its founding to 1834 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1837.
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jefferson Township is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Jefferson 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.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 →
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 Jefferson Township’s history is told.
Another post office, Courter, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyFrom Wikipedia’s history of Jefferson Township.
Jefferson Township was organized in 1834. It is named for Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Jefferson Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
He purchased and settled upon land in Jefferson Township, Section 19, where he resided until the spring of 1864, at which time he settled upon a farm in Section 6, Jefferson Township, which he had purchased previously. Here he resided until the spring of 1880, at
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Fisher, natives of Virginia and Indiana, respectively, and born as follows: The former in Franklin County, Virginia, July 23, 1820, and the latter in Union County, Indiana, August 19, 1822. They were married in Jefferson Township, this county, November 11, 1841, and afterward settled on his father's farm in Jefferson Township, where he resided about one year; then settled upon land in Section 30, Jefferson Township, where he resided until August, 1883, when he settled upon the farm on which he now
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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson Township.
Nobody well known was born in Jefferson Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1834, according to Wikidata. Jefferson Township’s post office opened in 1837.
Jefferson Township is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns. 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.
36% of Jefferson Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.3 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1956.
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 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.
