The North Bend Township post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, North Bend (1850) and Winona (1891), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,504176 years
How historic is North Bend Township?
C+
More historic than 38% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first North Bend Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives North Bend Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, North Bend Township is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of North Bend Township’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 North Bend Township’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 (±8.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 North Bend Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
North Bend
1850–1873
Ora
1882–today
Winona
1891–1905
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
OraWinona
Gone or out of use
Starke County Pitmine
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside North Bend Township
Alexander Heinemann MemorialNorth BendNorth Union
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
North Bend Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of North Bend Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
North Bend Township is one of nine townships in Starke County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,504 (up from 1,394 at 2010) and it contained 946 housing units.
Its first post office opened in 1850. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,394 to 1,504 (+8%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
North Bend Township, 1850 to 1905
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The North Bend Township post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does North Bend Township rank for history?
North Bend Township is more historic than 38% 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 North Bend Township?
19% of North Bend Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.8 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1974.
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 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.
