The story
Read it all →How Livonia came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Livonia.
A post office was established at Livonia in 1818, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1925.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Quick answers
How Livonia began
When was Livonia founded?
1818
The Livonia post office opened in 1818, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1819.
First census: 211 in 18802020 census: 99208 years
Founding year: the first Livonia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1819.The full story ↓
What stands out about Livonia’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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Start Livonia’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Livonia’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Livonia, 1818 to 1957
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Livonia in 1916
Passages that mention Livonia, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Centennial history of Washington County, Indiana1916 · page 355Read the page →
Read the text
Of the Presbyterian churches of the county, Livonia stands first in the point of organization. In February, 1816, at the house of Alex McKinney, Sr., one mile south of where Livonia now stands, this church was organized by Rev. Samuel Shannon and consisted of thirteen members. It was first called Bethel, but soon after took the present name, Livonia, and erected a commodious house of hewn logs, the first, probably, built after the town was laid off. In April, 1818, Rev. William M. Martin was installed pastor by the presbytery of Louisville, which met there that year. In the relation
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Centennial history of Washington County, Indiana1916 · page 535Read the page →
Read the text
The first church erected in this township was by the regular Baptists, in thf \ear 1825. It was located two and one-half miles north of Livonia and was a brick Imilding fifteen by twenty feet, with pulpit on one side. The bricks were not burned properly and owing to their soft condition they
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.
By decade
Livonia, decade by decade
Today1 recent
2016On the map
Livonia on the map, 1957 to 1990
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Livonia. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1957Livonia sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Livonia.
People over time
Livonia, census by census
Between 99 and 211 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Livonia’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →2 famous people were born in Livonia
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices
Livonia had its own post office from 1818 to 1925.
Livonia
18101920today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Livonia’s history
What year was Livonia founded?
The Livonia post office opened in 1818, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1819.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (1), 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 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.