New Haven dates to 1839, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 58% of U.S. towns · #346 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Most of New Haven was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Its Register listing is the Wabash Railroad Depot. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1842.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives New Haven’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, New Haven is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #346 of 593 in Indiana. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of New Haven’s overall grade.
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 New Haven’s 0.6 sits near the middle of its state (45% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±2.0 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1839.
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 New Haven’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
New Haven was platted in 1839 by Henry Burgess, who named it after New Haven, Connecticut. It was incorporated as a town under Indiana law in 1865. It became incorporated as a city in 1963. Several homes built by the Burgess family remain in New Haven. A Burgess home on Summit Street is the oldest brick structure in Jefferson Township. Henry Burgess' son-in-law, E.W. Green built a large frame Greek Revival house on the hill above what is now Schnelker Park and the former New Haven Elementary School building. Another Burgess structure remains at the corner of Summit and Eben Streets. In the 1850s the Swiss Amish arrived in the region, and what makes them distinct is that they speak an Alsatian German Language.
Passages that mention New Haven, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of New Haven County, Connecticut1930 · page 303Read the page →
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became a draftsman for the Boston Bridge Works, with which he continued for about three years, designing various steel structures during that time. On the 1st of January, 1895, he came to New Haven in connection with the bridge department of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, remaining with the company for about eleven years in various capacities.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of New Haven County, Connecticut1930 · page 16Read the page →
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treasurer of the Bridgeport Electric Manufacturing Company In financial circles, too, he became widely known, being a director of the First National Bank of Bridgeport, the Union Trust Com¬ pany of New Haven and the Morris Plan Bank of Bridgeport, and of the last named institution he was president for ten years. More¬ over, he was a director of the Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, a director of the Bridgeport Chamber of Com¬ merce and at one time occupied the presidency of the Bridgeport
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Family history and genealogy of the descendants of Robert Augur of New Haven colony1904 · page 45Read the page →
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in New Haven, Nov. 6, 1775, it was voted that all Tories "be desired peaceably to depart from the town as soon as may be," and on Dec. 1 1 of that year Abraham Augur was chosen as one of a " Committee of Inspection ' ' to look after Tories and expose their machinations. A charter incorporating the City of New Haven was granted Jan. 8, 1784, and at the first city election, Jan. 21, 1784, Abraham Augur was chosen councilman. He was a selectman of the town during the years 1776-
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Commemorative biographical record of New Haven county, Connecticut, containing biographical sketches of prominent1902Read the page →
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Edward E. Bradley attended the old Lancasterian public school in New Haven and later the public school and Brown's Academy in West Haven, and for one year, 1859, Robbin's Commercial School in New Haven. In April, i860, he began his business career as shipping clerk in the New Haven Wheel Company's works. Several months later he was made the bookkeeper of the same, sustaining
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
New Haven, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
In 1839, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. New Haven’s post office opened in 1842, and the census of 1870 counted 912 people here.
How does New Haven rank for history?
New Haven is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #346 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 New Haven?
One place: the Wabash Railroad Depot (listed 2003).
How old are the homes in New Haven?
7% of New Haven’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 (4), Wikidata (1), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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