History · Mulberry

Mulberry dates to 1858, and 51% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 55% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1961 on, and the census since 1880.

1858founded

0on the National Register

51%homes built before 1940

3old photos & papers

1famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Mulberry’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Mulberry began

When was Mulberry founded?

1858

Mulberry dates its founding to 1858 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 229 in 18802020 census: 1,231168 years

How historic is Mulberry?

B⁻

More historic than 55% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1860.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Mulberry’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mulberry is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mulberry’s overall grade.

Founding era1858, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC⁺Homes built before 194051.2% of homes (±10.4) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%A⁺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 55%

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 Mulberry’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 D to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.4 points). Two sources give 1858.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Mulberry’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Mulberry’s homes were built before 1938.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mulberry’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewMulberry, Ind., Horse Show and Moter [s…: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

The story

How Mulberry came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mulberry.

Read it all →

The plat for the town of Mulberry was laid out by W. S. Perrin on October 1, 1858. In the dedication of the plat the town is mistakenly named Glicksburg, an error made by a surveyor. The town's first home was that of Thomas Waldron, who also operated the first store and was Mulberry's first postmaster. The Lafayette, Muncie and Bloomington Railroad (later the Lake Erie and Western, then New York Central) reached Mulberry around 1873; the Terre Haute, Indianapolis and Eastern interurban line also serviced the town in the early 1900s.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mulberry, 1858 to 1961

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

19th century
1858
FoundingMulberry is established
1860Post officeThe Mulberry post office opens
1883Born hereEarl C. Slipher is born here
20th century
1903In the archive20th century atlas of Clinton County, Indiana - containing maps of villages, cities and t…
1910In the archiveMulberry, Ind., Horse Show and Moter [sic] Cycle Meet, June 25th, 1910
1961On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey

By decade

Mulberry, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s3 items

20th century atlas of Clinton County, Indiana - containing maps of villages, cities and townships of the county, of the…

190320th century atlas of Clinton County, Indiana - conta…Map

Mulberry, Ind., Horse Show and Moter [sic] Cycle Meet, June 25th, 1910

1910Mulberry, Ind., Horse Show and Moter [sic] Cycle Meet…

1920s–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 album

Today3 recent

2019Mulberry, Indiana

2012Kilmore Creek, Indiana

2008Mulberry, Indiana

On the map

Mulberry on the map, 1961 to 1980

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

1961Mulberry 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 Mulberry.

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 viewMulberry, Ind., Horse Show and Moter [sic] Cycle Meet, June 25th, 1910, 1910

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

Retake this view · +15

People over time

Mulberry, census by census

Between 229 and 1,387 people in every census since 1880.

9 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Questions about Mulberry’s history

What year was Mulberry founded?

In 1858, according to Wikidata. Mulberry’s post office opened in 1860, and the census of 1880 counted 229 people here.

How does Mulberry rank for history?

Mulberry is more historic than 55% 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.

How old are the homes in Mulberry?

51% of Mulberry’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.4 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1938.

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 (1), 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) 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.

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