The story
Read it all →How Monroe Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Monroe Township.
The Israel Jenkins House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B+History
History · Monroe Township
15% of Monroe Township’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Israel Jenkins House. Below: maps from 1962 on.
1on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
About Monroe Township’s history
How historic is Monroe Township?
B+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 72% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Monroe Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Monroe Township is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Monroe Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194015.3% of homes (±9.7) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register1 listing, 3 historic buildings, 16.8 per 10,000 residents · typical IN town 7.9 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 72%
NewerOlder
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 Monroe Township’s 16.8 sits above most of its state (67% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±9.7 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 Monroe 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 Monroe Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Monroe Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Jadden
Arcana
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ArcanaFriendly CornerJadden
1cemetery inside Monroe Township
Atkinson
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Monroe Township, 1850 to 1962
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Monroe Township, decade by decade
Today1 recent
2015On the map
Monroe Township on the map, 1962 to 1992
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Monroe Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1962Van Buren 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 Monroe Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Monroe Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
2003
Israel Jenkins House
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 Monroe Township
Nobody well known was born in Monroe Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
T
Thomas Francis, Jr.American physician, virologist, and epidemiolog… · b. 1900
L
Leo Aloysius PursleyCatholic bishop · b. 1902Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Monroe Township’s history
How does Monroe Township rank for history?
Monroe Township is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns. 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 Monroe Township?
One place: the Israel Jenkins House (listed 2003).
How old are the homes in Monroe Township?
15% of Monroe Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.7 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.