Lawrence Township’s post office opened in 1846, and 8 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns · #303 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Most of Lawrence Township was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. 8 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 85 buildings. Below: maps from 1948 on and the census since 1880.
The Lawrence Township post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Germantown (1837), Fall Creek (1849) and Castleton (1853), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 253 in 18802020 census: 122,321180 years
How historic is Lawrence Township?
B+
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Lawrence Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lawrence Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lawrence Township is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #303 of 593 in Indiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lawrence Township’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Lawrence Township ranks #183 on History.
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 Lawrence Township’s 20.2 sits above most of its state (67% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 247 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at Lawrence Township’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 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 Lawrence Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The municipality was platted in 1849 under the name "Lanesville", but other names were tried because there was already another Lanesville in Indiana. The name "Jamestown", in honor of the town's founder James White, was used for a while, but in 1866 the Marion County Commissioners approved the name "Lawrence", which is also the name of the township in which it is located. The name was in honor of Captain James Lawrence, naval hero of the War of 1812. In 1929 the citizens of Lawrence voted to become an independent town, where they first established the town marshal, as well as other parts of government.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lawrence Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1948Indianapolis East 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 Lawrence Township.
People over time
Lawrence Township, census by census
Grew from 253 people in 1880 to 49,370 in 2020, more than tenfold.
11 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lawrence Township’s Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Lawrence Township post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Lawrence Township rank for history?
Lawrence Township is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #303 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.
What is on the National Register in Lawrence Township?
8 listings: 1 building, 1 historic district, the Brendonwood Historic District, with 85 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 247 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Lawrence Township?
3% of Lawrence Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1982.
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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, 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.
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