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History · Lane Township

12% of Lane Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1900 on.

0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Lane Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Lane Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19003 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1980. Watch Lane Township change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Lane Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Lane Township’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lane Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lane Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Lane Township on the map, 1900 to 1980

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lane Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Lane Township on the 1900 USGS mapLane Township on the 1960 USGS mapLane Township on the 1980 USGS map1900De Gonia Springs sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lane Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Scalesville
1879–1903
Hemenway
1900–1903
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
HemenwayJockeyScalesville
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lane Township
Ashby - McClaryEbenezer

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Lane Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lane Township.

Read it all →

Lane Township was formed out of Owen Township in 1859. The township was named for Joseph Lane, a state legislator.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lane Township, 1879 to 1903

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe Scalesville post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900Post officeThe Hemenway post office opens
  5. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1903Post officeThe Scalesville post office closes
  7. 1903Post officeThe Hemenway post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Monroe TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHart TownshipIts storyC−Owen TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLockhart TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPigeon TownshipIts storyB

Questions about Lane Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

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.