Jeffersonville’s post office opened in 1803, and 6 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #227 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Most of Jeffersonville was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 500 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1850.
From Jeffersonville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Jeffersonville began
When was Jeffersonville founded?
1803
The Jeffersonville post office opened in 1803, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Watson (1872), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 2,122 in 18502020 census: 49,447223 years
How historic is Jeffersonville?
A−
More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Jeffersonville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Jeffersonville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jeffersonville is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #227 of 593 in Indiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jeffersonville’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 Jeffersonville’s 98.9 sits above most of its state (81% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 505 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% 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 (±1.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Jeffersonville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Jeffersonville, building by building, 1886–1925
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The foundation for what would become Jeffersonville began in 1786 when Fort Finney was established near where the Kennedy Bridge is today. U.S. Army planners chose the location for its view of a nearby bend in the Ohio River, which offered a strategic advantage in the protection of settlers from Native Americans. Over time, a settlement grew. In 1791 the fort was renamed to Fort Steuben in honor of Baron von Steuben. Then in 1793 the fort was abandoned.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Jeffersonville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1937Jeffersonville 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 Jeffersonville.
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.
Retake this viewCross Section and Longitudinal Section of Medical Department, 1840
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Jeffersonville’s page.
The Jeffersonville post office opened in 1803, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Jeffersonville rank for history?
Jeffersonville is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #227 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.
What is on the National Register in Jeffersonville?
6 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Howard Home (listed 1973, the first), and 1 historic district, the Old Jeffersonville Historic District, with 500 contributing buildings. 505 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Jeffersonville?
8% of Jeffersonville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1982.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1840
1840
1840
1917
