The story
Read it all →How Madison Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Madison Township.
The Shiloh Presbyterian Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainC+History
History · Madison Township
1 of Madison Township’s places is on the National Register
More historic than 45% of U.S. towns · #400 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Shiloh Meeting House and Cemetery. Most of Madison Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1903 on, and old-book passages.
1on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Quick answers
About Madison Township’s history
How historic is Madison Township?
C+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 45% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Madison Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Madison Township is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #400 of 593 in Indiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Madison Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19408.3% of homes (±6.1) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 3.5 per 10,000 residents · typical IN town 7.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 45%
NewerOlder
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 33%
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 3.5 sits near the middle of its state (51% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±6.1 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.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Madison Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Madison Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.From the old history books
What they wrote about Madison Township in 1902
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 →
Read the text
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
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Madison Township, including Groveport and Canal Winchester, Franklin County, Ohio1902 · page 76Read the page →
Read the text
We will supplement the list of township officers with a list of Madison Township citizens who have held county, state and other honorary positions. In October of 1827 John Swisher succeeded James Kilbourne as county assessor, and served until 1835.
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, 1853 to 1908
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1853Post officeThe Ireland post office opens
- 1863
In the archiveLieutenant Colonel William G. Mank provides the eulogy at the funeral of Lieutenant Colon… - 20th century
- 1901
In the archiveHon. W.J. Bryan addressing the thousands assembled at Madison, Indiana chautauqua, July 6… - 1903
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1907Post officeThe Dillon post office opens
- 1908Post officeThe Dillon post office closes
By decade
Madison Township, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
18661910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your albumToday21 recent
2013Madison Township, IN, USA - panoramio (25)
2013Madison Township, IN, USA - panoramio (24)
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2013Madison Township, IN, USA - panoramio (21)
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2013Madison Township, IN, USA - panoramio (19)
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2013Jasper, IN, USA - panoramio (6)
2013Jasper, IN, USA - panoramio (4)
2013Green Meadow Estates, Madison Township, IN 47546, USA…
2013Green Meadow Estates, Madison Township, IN 47546, USA…On the map
Madison Township on the map, 1903 to 1961
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Madison Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1903Velpen sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Madison Township.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewLieutenant Colonel William G. Mank provides the eulogy at the funeral of Lieutenant Colonel Jacob Glass, 1863
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Madison Township’s page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
1 historic place in Madison Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Shiloh Meeting House and Cemetery
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
Greek Revival1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Madison Township
Nobody well known was born in Madison Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
D
Daniel M. BuechleinRoman Catholic archbishop in the United States · b. 1938Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Another post office, Dillon, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Ireland
Dillon
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
IrelandMillersport
8cemeteries and burying grounds inside Madison Township
AlexanderArmstrongDillin CholeraHillsboroMount ZionPayneRisleySaint Marys Catholic
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Madison Township’s history
How does Madison Township rank for history?
Madison Township is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #400 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 Madison Township?
One place: the Shiloh Meeting House and Cemetery (listed 1982).
How old are the homes in Madison Township?
8% of Madison Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.1 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1994.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (21), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.