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History · Markleville

Markleville dates to 1852, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1960 on, and the census since 1870.

1852founded
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Markleville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Markleville began

When was Markleville founded?

1852

Markleville dates its founding to 1852 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 83 in 18702020 census: 484174 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1860.The full story ↓

What stands out about Markleville’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Markleville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewMarkleville-indiana-from-above: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Markleville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Markleville.

Read it all →

Markleville was laid out by John Markle in 1852, and named after him. It was incorporated as a town in 1912.

The site of the Fall Creek Massacre, chronicled by Jessamyn West in her novel Massacre at Fall Creek, is located about a mile from Markleville. A historical marker located just east of Markleville on State Road 38 tells the story of the massacre. In 1824, four men named Hudson, Sawyer, John T. Bridge Sr. and John Bridge Jr. were tried and sentenced to death for the murders of eight members of a small group of Seneca Indians, including women and children.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Markleville in 1874

Passages that mention Markleville, cut from the printed page as they were published.

The road, however, was not finished to Markleville until 1865, and the two miles east of Markleville to the county line not until 1867. The entire length of the line is nine
History of Madison County, Indiana, from 1820 to 18741874 · page 341Read the page →
Read the text

The road, however, was not finished to Markleville until 1865, and the two miles east of Markleville to the county line not until 1867. The entire length of the line is nine

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
a larger house. J. F. Collier again, as before, gave the ground upon which the church was to be built. This site is one half mile north of the old meeting house, and one mile and a half southeast of Markleville. This house was completed iu October, 1872, and on the third day of the same month was d…
History of Madison County, Indiana, from 1820 to 18741874 · page 314Read the page →
Read the text

a larger house. J. F. Collier again, as before, gave the ground upon which the church was to be built. This site is one half mile north of the old meeting house, and one mile and a half southeast of Markleville. This house was completed iu October, 1872, and on the third day of the same month was dedicated by the Rev.. Joseph M. Brown, of Indianapolis. This house is of frame, thirty-eight by fifty feet, sixteen feet ceiling, seated in good style, with

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

Markleville, 1852 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1852
    FoundingMarkleville is established
  3. 1860Post officeThe Markleville post office opens
  4. 1893Born hereHarold Cummins is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Markleville, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Markleville-indiana-from-aboveDate?Markleville-indiana-from-above
Today1 recent
Markleville, Indiana2016Markleville, Indiana
On the map

Markleville on the map, 1960 to 1986

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

Markleville on the 1960 USGS mapMarkleville on the 1986 USGS map1960Shirley 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 Markleville.

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.

Markleville-indiana-from-above
Retake this viewMarkleville-indiana-from-above

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Markleville’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Markleville, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 528

Between 83 and 528 people in every census since 1870.

12 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Questions about Markleville’s history

What year was Markleville founded?

In 1852, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Markleville’s post office opened in 1860, and the census of 1870 counted 83 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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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 (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 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.