The Kelso Township post office opened in 1830, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Kelso (1830) and New Alsace (1845), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 2,469196 years
How historic is Kelso Township?
B−
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Kelso Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Kelso Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kelso Township is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #358 of 593 in Indiana. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kelso 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 Kelso 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 C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.1 points). 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 Kelso Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Kelso Township is one of the original townships of Dearborn County that also included what is now Jackson Township. Kelso Township was organized in the November 1826 session of the County Supervisors. Kelso Township was named for John Kelso, an Irish immigrant and pioneer settler.
In 1832 Jackson Township was created from the western portion of Kelso Township.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kelso Township.
1986Cincinnati sheet · 1:100,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Kelso Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Kelso Township
Nobody well known was born in Kelso Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Kelso Township post office opened in 1830, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Kelso Township rank for history?
Kelso Township is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #358 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 Kelso Township?
14% of Kelso Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1987.
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 (2), 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.
1875
