The Lima Township post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Lima (1833) and Ontario (1846), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 2,383193 years
How historic is Lima Township?
A−
More historic than 83% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Lima Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lima Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lima Township is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lima 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 Lima Township’s 15.8 sits above most of its state (66% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% 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 (±15.1 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 Lima Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Howe was settled in 1834. At that time, it was named "Mongoquinong", a name that the Potawatomi people had given to the prairie in northeastern Indiana. Shortly thereafter it was renamed "Lima" and was, at that time, the county seat. It was later renamed "Howe" after John B. Howe, a local attorney.
The Howe Military School, the town's most famous attraction, was founded in 1884.
Sites in Howe on the National Register of Historic Places are:
John Badlam Howe Mansion, also known as the Howe Military School Rectory
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lima Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1947Lagrange 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 Lima Township.
On the National Register
4 historic places in Lima Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The Lima Township post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Lima Township rank for history?
Lima Township is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns. 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 Lima Township?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Samuel P. Williams House (listed 1980, the first), and 1 historic district, the Star Milling and Electric Company Historic District, with 1 contributing buildings. 5 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Lima Township?
20% of Lima Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±15.1 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.
