Noblesville dates to 1823, and 13 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 76% of U.S. towns · #254 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Most of Noblesville was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. 13 places in town are on the National Register, among them five historic districts with 394 buildings between them. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1883 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1824.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Noblesville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Noblesville is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #254 of 593 in Indiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Noblesville’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 Noblesville’s 55.2 sits above most of its state (76% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 405 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1823.
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 Noblesville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Noblesville, building by building, 1883–1922
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.
1883Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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.
Passages that mention Noblesville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Hamilton County Indiana1915 · page 291Read the page →
Read the text
Upon the organization of the Citizens Bank in Noblesville, the first man to deposit money and open an account in the town of Noblesville, as well as the first in all Hamilton county, was the then postmaster, John Alden, a Civil War soldier who is still residing in Noblesville, a one armed veteran. It is told of this gentleman that he went to this bank and, not being used to bank¬ ing business, after he had deposited his cash there and received a deposit slip, went outside and re-read the paper, whereupon it occurred to him that he was taking great chances to have only such a small piece of paper to show for the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Hamilton County Indiana1915 · page 235Read the page →
Read the text
Westfield is situated six miles west of Noblesville on the Noblesville and Lebanon gravel road and the Monon railroad and Central Indiana railroad. It was laid out by Ambrose Osborn, Asa Beales and Simon Moon on March 6, 1834. The original plat contained forty-eight lots eighty-two and onehalf feet front by one hundred fifty-six and one-half feet deep. Additions were made as necessity demanded. The first, which was made by Asa Beales in 1837, consisted of eighteen lots the same size as the original lots.
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
Noblesville, 1823 to 1991
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Noblesville’s post office has been open since 1824.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Federal HillHamilton Estates Mobile Home ParkMeadows GlenMeadows KnollMonterey VillageWest Noblesville
Gone or out of use
Roberts-Jacobi Restricted AirportairportSchool Number 1schoolSchool Number 10schoolSchool Number 10schoolSchool Number 12schoolSchool Number 13schoolSchool Number 2schoolSchool Number 7school
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Noblesville
CrownlandErvinGascho - TrissalRiversideTharp Mott
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Finish Noblesville’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.
In 1823, according to Wikidata. Noblesville’s post office opened in 1824, and the census of 1850 counted 664 people here.
How does Noblesville rank for history?
Noblesville is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #254 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 Noblesville?
13 listings: 8 buildings, among them the Hamilton County Courthouse Square (listed 1978, the first), and 5 historic districts with 394 contributing buildings. 405 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Noblesville?
6% of Noblesville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 2002.
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 (6), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (13), 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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