On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Madison Township is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #397 of 593 in Indiana. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Madison 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 Madison Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (22% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.9 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Madison Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Madison Township was organized in 1823 and given the name of "Wallace Township". It had first been settled about two years before; the first pioneer was Baldwin Howard, whose initial residence was about 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the present town of Odon. The original name was used for twelve years; in 1835, residents supported a petition to change the township's name to "Madison", and the county commissioners granted their request.
Passages that mention Madison Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Madison Township, including Groveport and Canal Winchester, Franklin County, Ohio1902 · page 119Read the page →
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September 17, i860, a committee was appointed by the Board of Education of Madison Township consisting of Jacob Sarber, Wm. Perrin and Henry Long 'Tor the purpose of visiting the school houses in sub-district No. 18 to ascertain whether they have school room enough, and to report at the April meeting.” On April 15, 1861, this committee submitted a report which "was received and the committee discharged/’ and on
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History of Knox and Daviess County, Indiana1886 · page 703Read the page →
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The town of Odon, in Madison Township, is the next important in size to the city of Washington. It was laid out in
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History of Knox and Daviess County, Indiana1886 · page 709Read the page →
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Smiley is a postoffice in Van Buren Township, and Farlen, a postoffice in Madison Township, that are of very recent date. Farlen has two or three dwellings and a Baptist Church. W. N. McFarlen has a general store there, and Paris Keck is a blacksmith. Cumback, another postoffice, is located in Veal Township.
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History of Madison Township, including Groveport and Canal Winchester, Franklin County, Ohio1902 · page 83Read the page →
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The office of Township Ditch Supervision was created by the Legislature of 1899-1900, and on September 3, 1900, the Trustees of Madison Township appointed Edward A. Peters to fill the office. Mr. Peters was then elected in April, 1901, and resigned on July 26, 1901. Madison Township was the first in the State to have a Township Ditch Supervisor. Clint A. Stevenson was appointed to fill the vacancy, and assumed
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.
Timeline
Madison Township, 1857 to 1950
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Madison Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1950Odon 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 Madison Township.
People over time
Madison Township, census by census
Between 1,897 and 3,018 people in every census since 1890.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Madison Township’s Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Madison Township is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #397 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 Madison Township?
21% of Madison Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 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 Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.
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