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AHistory
History · Linton

Linton dates to 1831, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 94% of U.S. towns · #96 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 66 buildings. Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 1890.

1831founded
2on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
10famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Linton began

When was Linton founded?

1831

Linton dates its founding to 1831 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 958 in 18902020 census: 5,133195 years

How historic is Linton?

A

More historic than 94% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1833.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Linton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Linton is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #96 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 Linton’s overall grade.
Founding era1831, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194030.2% of homes (±6.9) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register2 listings, 67 historic buildings, 127 per 10,000 residents · typical IN town 7.9 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 94%
NewerOlder
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 84%

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 Linton’s 127 sits above most of its state (83% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 67 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% 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 (±6.9 points). Two sources give 1831.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Linton’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 Linton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Linton Commercial Historic District takes in 66 historic buildings.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1900 to 1921, drew every building in Linton.Deep rootsEstablished in 1831: 195 years of Linton.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Linton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

2 listings protect 67 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
67
each building in a district counts
first listed
2000
Linton Public Library
Linton Public LibraryLinton Commercial Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Tudor Revival2
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Italianate1
Romanesque1
Classical Revival1
Art Deco1
Linton Public LibraryBungalow/Craftsman
Linton Commercial Historic DistrictItalianate

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

Every building

Linton, building by building, 1900–1921

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Linton fire insurance map, 1900, sheet 11900Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Linton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Linton.

Read it all →

Linton was essentially founded around the entrepreneuring of John W. Wines, who first sold goods in the Linton area, briefly in 1831. Although he would later relocate to Fairplay, Indiana, he returned and opened a general store in Linton in 1837. He would later build a small horse mill as well as a tannery. The city itself was officially chartered and named in June 1850, laid out by Hannah E. Osborn and Isaac V. Coddington. In the late 19th century, small underground coal mines began to appear near and almost inside the city and the population expanded rapidly. At the turn of the 20th century, the population was larger than it is today. At one point in the 1920s, there were at least 35 drinking establishments and an equal number of churches.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Linton, 1831 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1831
    FoundingLinton is established
  3. 1833Post officeThe New Jerusalem post office opens
  4. 1835Post officeThe New Jerusalem post office closes
  5. 1835Post officeThe Linton post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1904Born herePhil Harris is born here
  8. 1907Born hereChuck Bennett is born here
  9. 1935Born hereGene Porter Bridwell is born here
  10. 1940On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1954Born hereJohn Richard Gregg is born here
By decade

Linton, decade by decade

Today8 recent
GCGH2020GCGHLinton, Indiana2016Linton, IndianaLinton Indiana Fire Department You'll Like2016Linton Indiana Fire Department You'll LikeLinton Indiana Fire Department Sign2016Linton Indiana Fire Department SignLinton Indiana Fire Department Front2016Linton Indiana Fire Department FrontGoose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area2013Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife AreaVincennes in downtown2010Vincennes in downtownUS-IN-Linton2005US-IN-Linton
On the map

Linton on the map, 1940 to 1980

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

Linton on the 1940 USGS mapLinton on the 1963 USGS mapLinton on the 1980 USGS map1940Linton 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 Linton.

People over time

Linton, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 6,315

Between 958 and 6,315 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

10 famous people were born in Linton

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Phil HarrisAmerican actor, singer and comedian · b. 1904
Gene Porter BridwellNASA director · b. 1935
John Richard GreggAmerican politician · b. 1954
Chuck BennettAmerican football player · b. 1907
D
Dorothy MengeringAmerican television personality, 1921-2017 · b. 1921
I
Ira Osborn BakerCivil engineer and professor · b. 1853
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Linton’s post office has been open since 1835. Another post office, New Jerusalem, opened and closed inside today’s town.

New Jerusalem
1833–1835
Linton
1835–today
18301930today

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

Questions about Linton’s history

What year was Linton founded?

In 1831, according to Wikidata. Linton’s post office opened in 1833, and the census of 1890 counted 958 people here.

How does Linton rank for history?

Linton is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #96 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 Linton?

Two places: the Linton Public Library (listed 2000) and the Linton Commercial Historic District (2007).

How old are the homes in Linton?

30% of Linton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1959.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (8), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.