On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oregon Township is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #482 of 593 in Indiana. 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 Oregon 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 Oregon 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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.2 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Oregon Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Clark County lies on the north bank of the Ohio River. A significant gateway to the state of Indiana, Clark County's settlement began in 1783. The state of Virginia rewarded General George Rogers Clark and his regiment for their victorious capture of Forts Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes from the British, by granting them 150,000 acres (610 km2) of land. A small portion of this land, 1,000 acres (4.0 km2), became known as Clarksville, the first authorized American settlement in the Northwest Territory, founded the next year in 1784.
Passages that mention Oregon Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A standard history of Starke County, Indiana1915 · page 168Read the page →
Read the text
Samuel Koontz of Oregon Township, who built the fii-st grist mill in Starke County on the west bank of Koontz Lake, formerly called Woodsworth's Lake, in Oregon Township, procured license to marry Sarah Suit on July 22, 1858. He was the owner and operator of that mill and when he died the miU fell into the hands of his son, Samuel Koontz, Jr., who operates it up to this time.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A standard history of Starke County, Indiana1915 · page 512Read the page →
Read the text
journey alone on horseback, and entering 160 acres in section 11 of Oregon Township, situated at the head of Koontz Lake. None of these geographical names were at that time established, since Starke County was not organized until 1850, Oregon Township was still designated by the Government survey of township and range, and it was the Koontz settlement which gave the name to the beautiful expanse of water known as Koontz Lake. In that locality Samuel Koontz built a log cabin, one of the first in that part of the county, and there were few families any-
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
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Oregon Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1958Hamlet 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 Oregon Township.
People over time
Oregon Township, census by census
Grew from 5,670 people in 1810 to 121,093 in 2020, more than tenfold.
22 censuses, 1810–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Oregon Township’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Old corners and burying grounds
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
GrovertownKoontz Lake
1cemetery inside Oregon Township
Fletcher
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Oregon Township is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #482 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.
How old are the homes in Oregon Township?
12% of Oregon Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 Wikipedia, 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 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.
