On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Johnson Township is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #296 of 593 in Indiana. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Johnson 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 Johnson Township’s 2.8 sits near the middle of its state (49% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.2 points).
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 →
What stands out about Johnson Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Marcy
1835–1880
Valentine
1869–1926
Woodruff
1880–1905
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ValentineWebers LandingWitmer ManorWoodruff
Gone or out of use
Oliver Lake AirportairportWolcottville Sand and Gravel Pitmine
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Johnson Township
LakesideOak HillTamarackWoodlandWoodruffWoodruff Memorial Gardens
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Johnson Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Johnson Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Johnson Township is one of eleven townships in LaGrange County, Indiana. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,546 (up from 3,392 at 2010) and it contained 2,076 housing units. Johnson Township was founded in 1837.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,392 to 3,546 (+5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Johnson Township, 1835 to 1947
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 Johnson Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1947Wolcottville 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 Johnson Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Johnson Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
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
Johnson Township, census by census
Grew from 1,184 people in 1930 to 3,546 in 2020.
10 censuses, 1930–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Johnson Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Johnson Township
Nobody well known was born in Johnson Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Johnson Township is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #296 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 Johnson Township?
21% of Johnson Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1975.
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, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
