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B−History
History · Middlebury Township

Middlebury Township’s post office opened in 1836, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns · #367 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1961 on, and the census since 1880.

1836first post office
0on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Middlebury Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Middlebury Township began

When was Middlebury Township founded?

1836

The Middlebury Township post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Forest Grove (1853), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 502 in 18802020 census: 8,905190 years

How historic is Middlebury Township?

B−

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Middlebury Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Middlebury Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Middlebury Township is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #367 of 593 in Indiana. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Middlebury Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1836, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194013.1% of homes (±4.8) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%B−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical IN town 7.9 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 52%
NewerOlder
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 38%

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 Middlebury 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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Middlebury Township’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.Deep rootsA post office since 1836: 190 years of Middlebury Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Middlebury Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Middlebury Township’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 viewMiddlebury-indiana-water-tower: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Middlebury Township, 1853 to 1961

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1853Post officeThe Forest Grove post office opens
  3. 1858Post officeThe Forest Grove post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1961On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Middlebury Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Middlebury Township.

Read it all →

Before the Europeans came to the region, the Miami and later the Potawatomi ruled the area. That changed in 1832, when the first settlers came from Middlebury, Vermont. They chose this specific area because the rolling hills reminded them of Vermont. Later, in 1841, the first Amish families came from Somerset County, Pennsylvania and settled in the countryside surrounding the town. Middlebury Township was organized in 1834 and the town of Middlebury was finally incorporated in 1868.

In 1888, the railroad came to Middlebury and began to diversify the town's economy to include manufacturing as well as farming.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Middlebury Township in 1916

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

intended they should be. However, on the organization of Middlebury Township, noted below, the phraseology used is, "Ordered that all that part of Concord Township in ranges 6 and 7 be set apart and known by the name of Middlebury Township." But
A standard history of Elkhart County, Indiana1916 · page 68Read the page →
Read the text

intended they should be. However, on the organization of Middlebury Township, noted below, the phraseology used is, "Ordered that all that part of Concord Township in ranges 6 and 7 be set apart and known by the name of Middlebury Township." But

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Old Middlebcry Township In March, 1834. Middlebury Township was set apart from all that part of Concord Township lying in ranges 6 and 7. The new division thus comprised that block of country now known as Middlebury, York, Jefferson and Washington townships.
A standard history of Elkhart County, Indiana1916 · page 70Read the page →
Read the text

Old Middlebcry Township In March, 1834. Middlebury Township was set apart from all that part of Concord Township lying in ranges 6 and 7. The new division thus comprised that block of country now known as Middlebury, York, Jefferson and Washington townships.

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

Middlebury Township, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Middlebury-indiana-water-towerDate?Middlebury-indiana-water-tower
Today25 recent
Village Inn 22021Village Inn 2The Hilltop2021The HilltopCrossroads Ambulance2017Crossroads AmbulanceNot just automobiles and small trucks park in this lot outside a supermarket2016Not just automobiles and small trucks park in this lo…A "quilt garden," or array of flowers planted to resemble a quilt, at Essenhaus tourist complex that includes an inn an…2016A "quilt garden," or array of flowers planted to rese…A "quilt garden," or array of flowers planted to resemble a quilt, at Essenhaus tourist complex that includes an inn an…2016A "quilt garden," or array of flowers planted to rese…Horses and a Shetland pony on an Amish farm, evident from the absence of electric wires on the property, in Elkhart Cou…2016Horses and a Shetland pony on an Amish farm, evident …An Amish farm, evident from the absence of electric wires on the property, in Elkhart County, Indiana, near the town of…2016An Amish farm, evident from the absence of electric w…An Amish farm, evident from the absence of electric wires on the property, in Elkhart County, Indiana, near the town of…2016An Amish farm, evident from the absence of electric w…Dairy barn turned gift shop at the Essenhaus tourist complex, also containing an inn and Amish-style restaurant2016Dairy barn turned gift shop at the Essenhaus tourist …A "parked" Amish horse and buggy at Essenhaus tourist complex containing an inn and Amish-style restaurant2016A "parked" Amish horse and buggy at Essenhaus tourist…An Amish horse and buggy are parked, rather than hitched, near a barn near Middlebury in Elkhart County, Indiana2016An Amish horse and buggy are parked, rather than hitc…An Amish man guides his horse and buggy down a rural road south of Middlebury in Elkhart County, Indiana2016An Amish man guides his horse and buggy down a rural …Amish buggies, "parked" in spaces reserved for horses and buggies in a grocery-store lot2016Amish buggies, "parked" in spaces reserved for horses…Amish buggies, "parked" in spaces reserved for horses and buggies in a grocery-store lot2016Amish buggies, "parked" in spaces reserved for horses…Amish buggies, "parked" in spaces reserved for horses and buggies in a grocery-store lot2016Amish buggies, "parked" in spaces reserved for horses…Amish buggies, "parked" in spaces reserved for horses and buggies in a grocery-store lot2016Amish buggies, "parked" in spaces reserved for horses…A traditional horse-drawn buggy on an Amish farm in Elkhart County, Indiana, near the town of Middlebury2016A traditional horse-drawn buggy on an Amish farm in E…An Amish man guides his horse and buggy near Middlebury in Elkhart County, Indiana2016An Amish man guides his horse and buggy near Middlebu…An Amish woman guides her horse and buggy near Middlebury in Elkhart County, Indiana2016An Amish woman guides her horse and buggy near Middle…Harvest time on an Amish farm near Middlebury in Elkhart County, Indiana2016Harvest time on an Amish farm near Middlebury in Elkh…Toadstool sculptures in Krider Nurseries' "World's Fair Garden"2016Toadstool sculptures in Krider Nurseries' "World's Fa…Statue in Krider Nurseries' "World's Fair Garden"2016Statue in Krider Nurseries' "World's Fair Garden"Florally festooned cottage2016Florally festooned cottage2010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBook
On the map

Middlebury Township on the map, 1961 to 1981

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

Middlebury Township on the 1961 USGS mapMiddlebury Township on the 1981 USGS map1961Middlebury 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 Middlebury 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.

Middlebury-indiana-water-tower
Retake this viewMiddlebury-indiana-water-tower

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Middlebury Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,500188019001920194019601980200020203,466

Grew from 502 people in 1880 to 3,466 in 2020, 6 times over.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Middlebury Township

Nobody well known was born in Middlebury Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
James CarewAmerican stage and film actor · b. 1876
Kate BolduanAmerican broadcast journalist · b. 1983
Philip ProctorAmerican actor · b. 1940
I
Ida Shepard OldroydAmerican conchologist, curator, and paleontolog… · b. 1856
Jordon HodgesAmerican actor · b. 1987
K
Kenneth HawksAmerican film director · b. 1898
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Another post office, Forest Grove, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Lake Grange
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Middlebury Township
EldridgeForest GroveGeisingerMiller

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.

York Township1 historic placeBJefferson Township1 historic placeB−Newbury Township1 historic placeC+Clinton TownshipIts storyB−

Questions about Middlebury Township’s history

What year was Middlebury Township founded?

The Middlebury Township post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Middlebury Township rank for history?

Middlebury Township is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #367 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 Middlebury Township?

13% of Middlebury Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1986.

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 (5), the Library of Congress (21), Wikipedia, 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.