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History · Larwill

Larwill dates to 1854, and 49% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Dr. Christopher Souder House. Its Register listing is the Dr. Christopher Souder House. Below: maps from 1984 on and the census since 1880.

1854founded
1on the National Register
49%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Larwill began

When was Larwill founded?

1854

Larwill dates its founding to 1854 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 506 in 18802020 census: 273172 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1866.The full story ↓

What stands out about Larwill’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 Larwill are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 994 in 1960; 273 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Larwill’s homes were built before 1945.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Larwill’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Larwill’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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People over time

Larwill, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 994

Peaked at 994 in 1960; 273 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Larwill’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Larwill came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Larwill.

Read it all →

Larwill was originally laid out and named Huntsville on November 13, 1854. On March 8, 1866, the town was renamed to Larwill in Honor of William and Joseph Larwill, who were railroad engineers. The Larwill post office had been in operation since 1866, but permanently closed in 2024.

The Dr. Christopher Souder House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Larwill in 1907

Passages that mention Larwill, cut from the printed page as they were published.

"When the railroad was built and the station located at Larwill the postoffice transferred there and improvements were made. The new center became more attractive and Tchabod' was inscribed above the door of Summit's aspiring greatness.
History of Whitley County, Indiana1907 · page 389Read the page →
Read the text

"When the railroad was built and the station located at Larwill the postoffice transferred there and improvements were made. The new center became more attractive and Tchabod' was inscribed above the door of Summit's aspiring greatness.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
became an employe of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad, spending the interval between i860 and 1870 in the line of service at the town of Larwill. In the latter year he was elected treasurer of Whitley count)' and so faithfully and efficiently did he discharge his duties as custodian of …
History of Whitley County, Indiana1907 · page 499Read the page →
Read the text

became an employe of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad, spending the interval between i860 and 1870 in the line of service at the town of Larwill. In the latter year he was elected treasurer of Whitley count)' and so faithfully and efficiently did he discharge his duties as custodian of one of the people's most important trusts,

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Larwill, 1854 to 1984

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854
    FoundingLarwill is established
  3. 1866Post officeThe Larwill post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 994
  6. 1984On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Larwill, decade by decade

Today23 recent
LarwillWest2023LarwillWestLarwillNorth2023LarwillNorthLarwillLookingNorth2023LarwillLookingNorthLarwillLake2023LarwillLakeLarwillFireBallPark2023LarwillFireBallParkLarwillEast2023LarwillEastLarwillCemetery2023LarwillCemeteryRailroad west 32292021Railroad west 3229Railroad east (cut) 32282021Railroad east (cut) 3228Old Trail (west) 32912021Old Trail (west) 3291Main Street 32272021Main Street 3227Main Street 32202021Main Street 3220Main St at Track 32262021Main St at Track 3226Larwill 31982021Larwill 3198Italianate Hse 32072021Italianate Hse 3207Untitled photo2021Untitled photoUntitled photo2021Untitled photo106 West Old Trail 32062021106 West Old Trail 3206106 Center Street 32232021106 Center Street 3223House on West Main in2012House on West Main inHistorical marker in2012Historical marker inHayden Hardware Store2012Hayden Hardware Store106 Center in2012106 Center in
On the map

Larwill on the map, 1984 to 1994

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

Larwill on the 1984 USGS mapLarwill on the 1994 USGS map1984Fort Wayne 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 Larwill.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Larwill

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
first listed
2005
Dr. Christopher Souder House
Dr. Christopher Souder House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Italianate1
Dr. Christopher Souder HouseItalianate

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Questions about Larwill’s history

What year was Larwill founded?

In 1854, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Larwill’s post office opened in 1866, and the census of 1880 counted 506 people here.

What is on the National Register in Larwill?

One place: the Dr. Christopher Souder House (listed 2005).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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 Wikimedia Commons (23), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.