The Keener Township post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Keener (1879), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 10,625147 years
How historic is Keener Township?
C−
More historic than 17% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Keener Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Keener Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Keener Township is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #553 of 593 in Indiana. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Keener 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 Keener 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.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 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 Keener Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Keener Township was established in 1858 and probably named after Jacob Keener, who settled in South Bend in 1855. A cabinet maker, stockholder of the Union Cabinet company as well as a politician, policeman, and saloon owner in South Bend, Jacob also established the Apollo - the "first German garden and place of amusement" in South Bend and a "favorite resort for politicians of both parties." The first German theater and masquerades in South Bend were held there.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Keener Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1957Demotte 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 Keener Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Keener Township
Nobody well known was born in Keener Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Keener Township post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Keener Township rank for history?
Keener Township is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #553 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 Keener Township?
2% of Keener Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1991.
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) 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.
