Founding year: the first Oolitic post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1896.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Oolitic’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oolitic is more historic than 43% 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 Oolitic’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 Oolitic’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 (±6.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1896 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Oolitic’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Oolitic was platted on March 23, 1896, by the Bedford Quarries Company. It was incorporated in 1900. In 1910, its population was 1,079; in 1914 it had risen to about 2,000. Oolite is a type of limestone found in Indiana.
Oolitic is the site of a limestone statue of comic-strip boxer Joe Palooka, moved there from Bedford in 1984.
Oolitic is the opposing basketball team during the season opener in the film Hoosiers.
The Oolitic post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1896.
How does Oolitic rank for history?
Oolitic is more historic than 43% 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 Oolitic?
25% of Oolitic’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1964.
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), 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.
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