The Laughery Township post office opened in 1827, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Laughery (1827) and Ballstown (1844), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 2,101 in 18902020 census: 5,090199 years
How historic is Laughery Township?
A
More historic than 94% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Laughery Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Laughery Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Laughery Township is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #88 of 593 in Indiana. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Laughery 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 Laughery Township’s 86.2 sits above most of its state (80% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 44 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.1 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 Laughery Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Laughery Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Laughery Township is one of eleven townships in Ripley County, Indiana. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,090 (up from 4,736 at 2010) and it contained 2,108 housing units. Laughery Township took its name from Laughery Creek.
Its first post office opened in 1827. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 4,736 to 5,090 (+7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
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.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Laughery Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1946New Point 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 Laughery Township.
On the National Register
1 listing protects 44 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
44
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
Laughery Township, census by census
Grew from 2,101 people in 1890 to 5,090 in 2020.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Laughery Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Laughery Township
Nobody well known was born in Laughery Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Laughery Township post office opened in 1827, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Laughery Township rank for history?
Laughery Township is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #88 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 Laughery Township?
34% of Laughery Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.1 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1961.
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.
