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Potter's Covered BridgePotter's Covered Bridge · Photo: The original uploader was Randolph at English Wikipedia. · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Noblesville Township

Noblesville Township dates to 1823, and 15 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Noblesville Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1953 on, and the census since 1850.

1823founded
15on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Noblesville Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Noblesville Township began

When was Noblesville Township founded?

1823

Noblesville Township dates its founding to 1823 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 664 in 18502020 census: 64,067203 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1824.The full story ↓

What stands out about Noblesville Township’s past

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

Landmarks on the Register15 places on the National Register.Deep rootsEstablished in 1823: 203 years of Noblesville Township.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

15 listings protect 405 historic buildings

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

places listed
15
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
405
each building in a district counts
first listed
1991
Potter's Covered Bridge
Potter's Covered Bridge, built 1871Holliday Hydroelectric Powerhouse and Dam
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Howe Truss1
Chateauesque1
Potter's Covered BridgeHowe Truss · Built 1871
Holliday Hydroelectric Powerhouse and DamChateauesque

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

Timeline

Noblesville Township, 1823 to 1953

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1823
    FoundingNoblesville Township is established
  3. 1871BuiltPotter's Covered Bridge is built
  4. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Indiana - Hamilton County - Noblesville - ED 29-1…
  5. 1889Post officeThe Gray post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1902In the archiveTheodore Roosevelt in Noblesville, Indiana 1902
  8. 1902Post officeThe Gray post office closes
  9. 1911In the archive1911-noblesville-milling-company-ad
  10. 1933In the archiveHistoric American Buildings Survey Eli Lilly Company Photographic Department - About 1937…
  11. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Noblesville Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Noblesville Township.

Read it all →

Noblesville's history dates to 1818 when the government purchased the land that is now Hamilton County from the Native Americans in this area. William Conner, the only settler living in the area at the time, and his wife Mekinges Conner, a Lenape woman, established the first trading post in central Indiana in 1802 and lived in the area's first log cabin. William Conner and Josiah Polk laid out what is now downtown Noblesville in 1823, which was designated as the Hamilton County seat in 1824 and incorporated in 1851. Conner's 1823 home is now one of a village of historic buildings that make up Conner Prairie Pioneer Settlement, a living history museum south of Noblesville in Fishers.

ChaptersList of mayorsCurrent City Council

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Noblesville Township, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1900s6 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Indiana - Hamilton County - Noblesville - ED 29-15, ED 29-16, ED 29-17, ED 29-1818801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Indiana - Ham…Theodore Roosevelt in Noblesville, Indiana 19021902Theodore Roosevelt in Noblesville, Indiana 1902"We war not on industrial organizations, but on the evil in them"- President Roosevelt1902"We war not on industrial organizations, but on the e…How the American people greeted their President on his western tour1902How the American people greeted their President on hi…President Roosevelt presenting some of his forcible arguments to an enthusiastic crowd at Noblesville, Ind., U.S.A1902President Roosevelt presenting some of his forcible a…President Roosevelt addressing the citizens of Noblesville, on his western tour, Indiana1906President Roosevelt addressing the citizens of Nobles…
1910s–1930s4 items
1911-noblesville-milling-company-ad19111911-noblesville-milling-company-adScarborough's Road Map and Motor Guide of Indiana. - DPLA - 2f654dc0e2bd093f69cec4242740b50c (page 53)1912Scarborough's Road Map and Motor Guide of Indiana. - …Map1916-diadem-flour-ad19161916-diadem-flour-adHistoric American Buildings Survey Eli Lilly Company Photographic Department - About 1937-1938 Gift courtesy of Edward …1933Historic American Buildings Survey Eli Lilly Company …
1940s–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
On the map

Noblesville Township on the map, 1953 to 1992

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

Noblesville Township on the 1953 USGS mapNoblesville Township on the 1960 USGS mapNoblesville Township on the 1980 USGS mapNoblesville Township on the 1992 USGS map1953Noblesville 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 Noblesville 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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Indiana - Hamilton County - Noblesville - ED 29-15, ED 29-16, ED 29-17, ED 29-18
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Indiana - Hamilton County - Noblesville - ED 29-15, ED 29-16, ED 29-17, ED 29-18, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Noblesville Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,00060,00065,00070,00075,000185019001950200069,604

Grew from 664 people in 1850 to 69,604 in 2020, more than tenfold.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Riverwood
Gone or out of use
School Number 3schoolSchool Number 5schoolSchool Number 6schoolSchool Number 8schoolSchool Number 9school
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Noblesville Township
GrayHurlockWeaverZimmer

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Noblesville Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Noblesville13 historic placesA−Wayne TownshipIts storyC−White River TownshipIts storyBClay Township4 historic placesCCarmel4 historic placesCJackson Township3 historic placesBWestfield Washington Township3 historic placesC+Fall Creek TownshipIts storyDDelaware Township2 historic placesCFishers2 historic placesC

Questions about Noblesville Township’s history

What year was Noblesville Township founded?

In 1823, according to Wikidata. Noblesville Township’s post office opened in 1824, and the census of 1850 counted 664 people here.

What is on the National Register in Noblesville Township?

15 listings: 2 structures. 405 historic buildings in all.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.