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CHistory
History · Munster

Munster’s post office opened in 1892, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 28% of U.S. towns · #490 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it

Most of Munster was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Its Register listing is the Stallbohm Barn-Kaske House. Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 1910.

1892first post office
1on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Munster began

When was Munster founded?

1892

The Munster post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1907.

First census: 543 in 19102020 census: 23,894134 years

How historic is Munster?

C

More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Munster post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1907.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Munster’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Munster is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #490 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 Munster’s overall grade.
Founding era1892, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.9% of homes (±0.8) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 0.8 per 10,000 residents · typical IN town 7.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 28%
NewerOlder
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 17%

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 Munster’s 0.8 sits near the middle of its state (46% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1907.

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 Munster’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Munster are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19007 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1991. Watch Munster change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Munster’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Munster on the map, 1900 to 1991

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

Munster on the 1900 USGS mapMunster on the 1929 USGS mapMunster on the 1953 USGS mapMunster on the 1960 USGS mapMunster on the 1973 USGS mapMunster on the 1980 USGS mapMunster on the 1991 USGS map1900Calumet sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Munster.

The story

How Munster came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Munster.

Read it all →

The Ibach House and Stallbohm Barn-Kaske House are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The earliest known inhabitants of the area were the Potawatomi. Although a village did not exist in what was to become Munster's town boundaries, a trail along the dry sandy ridge now known as Ridge Road was well traveled by the indigenous inhabitants. Today, Munster's downtown area, the Town Hall, Police and Fire Department headquarters, the Center for the Visual and Performing Arts, the site of a former school, and the Munster Post Office are all situated on Ridge Road.

ChaptersEarly historyModern times

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Munster in 1915

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

potatoes, cabbages, onions, parsnips and flowers, seem to make a picture lifted bodily out of old Holland itself. At the center of this new-world Dutch settlement are a schoolhouse, postoffice and a store, all included in the name Munster. Near that point the Grand Trunk and the Pennsylvania lines …
A standard history of Lake County, Indiana, and the Calumet region1915 · page 175Read the page →
Read the text

potatoes, cabbages, onions, parsnips and flowers, seem to make a picture lifted bodily out of old Holland itself. At the center of this new-world Dutch settlement are a schoolhouse, postoffice and a store, all included in the name Munster. Near that point the Grand Trunk and the Pennsylvania lines come together, and it is the shipping, business and social center of one of the most industrious, prosperous and unique communities in Lake County.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Dutch Settlers of 1855 The founders of this section of the Netherlands in Northwestern Indiana were Dingernon Jabaay, with his family, including three sous; Antonie Bonevman and his son-in-law, Eldert Munster, with his two sons, Jacob and Antonie Munster. The Munster family came from Stryen, nine m…
A standard history of Lake County, Indiana, and the Calumet region1915Read the page →
Read the text

Dutch Settlers of 1855 The founders of this section of the Netherlands in Northwestern Indiana were Dingernon Jabaay, with his family, including three sous; Antonie Bonevman and his son-in-law, Eldert Munster, with his two sons, Jacob and Antonie Munster. The Munster family came from Stryen, nine miles from Rotterdam, and the entire colony boarded the ship ''Mississippi" in the summer of 1855, reaching Lake County in August.

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

Munster, 1892 to 1997

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892Post officeThe Munster post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1905Post officeThe Munster post office closes
  6. 1956Born hereJoe Mansueto is born here
  7. 1997Born hereMarcus Burk is born here
By decade

Munster, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Three-Floyds-012008Three-Floyds-01Residents boat down a main street in2008Residents boat down a main street inJack's, circa 1950s2007Jack's, circa 1950sAmerican Robin nest and eggs2007American Robin nest and eggsAmerican Robin feeding chicks2007American Robin feeding chicksMunster - FHH2006Munster - FHHMunster - Camellia Drive2006Munster - Camellia DriveMidwest Motel, circa 19602006Midwest Motel, circa 1960Ashwood Ln. in White Oak2006Ashwood Ln. in White OakA street in2006A street inUS-IN-Munster2005US-IN-MunsterMunster - White Oak Estates2005Munster - White Oak Estates
On the National Register

1 historic place in Munster

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1998
Stallbohm Barn-Kaske House
Stallbohm Barn-Kaske House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

English Barn1
Stallbohm Barn-Kaske HouseEnglish Barn

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Munster, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00019201940196019802000202023,894

Grew from 543 people in 1910 to 23,894 in 2020, more than tenfold.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Munster

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
J
Joe MansuetoAmerican entrepreneur · b. 1956
M
Marcus BurkAmerican basketball player · b. 1997
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Munster had its own post office from 1892 to 1905.

Munster
1892–1905
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Maynard
Gone or out of use
Lanier Schoolschool

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.

Hammond15 historic placesA−North Township24 historic placesAHighland1 historic placeB−St. John Township2 historic placesB−Dyer1 historic placeB−

Questions about Munster’s history

What year was Munster founded?

The Munster post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1907.

How does Munster rank for history?

Munster is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #490 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 Munster?

One place: the Stallbohm Barn-Kaske House (listed 1998).

How old are the homes in Munster?

2% of Munster’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1973.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (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), 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.