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History · Orland

Orland dates to 1834, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1909 on, and the census since 1880.

1834founded
0on the National Register
36%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Orland’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Orland began

When was Orland founded?

1834

Orland dates its founding to 1834 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 416 in 18802020 census: 389192 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1837.The full story ↓

What stands out about Orland’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Orland’s homes were built before 1949.Deep rootsEstablished in 1834: 192 years of Orland.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Orland’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Orland’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewCharles H. Aldrich: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Orland came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Orland.

Read it all →

Orland is recognized as the first settlement in Steuben County,

populated by migrants from Vermont and originally known as Vermont Settlement. Each year in late July, Orland celebrates this heritage with the Vermont Settlement Festival. Orland was settled in 1834 after a Vermont man named John Stocker had gone prospecting for his family and the families of his neighbors. Stocker chose this particular piece of land because of the rich burr-oak openings he found. Pioneers coming from Windham County, Vermont, arrived shortly thereafter and built a Baptist church. The town established a post office in 1837.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Orland, 1834 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1834
    FoundingOrland is established
  3. 1837Post officeThe Orland post office opens
  4. 1878Born hereHenry M. Kimball is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1940On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Orland, decade by decade

Date unknown2 to date
Charles H. AldrichDate?Charles H. AldrichOrland, Indiana 1876Date?Orland, Indiana 1876
Today1 recent
Parker House2007Parker House
On the map

Orland on the map, 1940 to 1992

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

Orland on the 1940 USGS mapOrland on the 1960 USGS mapOrland on the 1992 USGS map1940Orland 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 Orland.

Every building

Orland, building by building, 1909–1917

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.

Orland fire insurance map, 1909, sheet 11909Sheet 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.

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.

Charles H. Aldrich
Retake this viewCharles H. Aldrich

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Orland, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 457

Between 307 and 457 people in every census since 1880.

12 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Questions about Orland’s history

What year was Orland founded?

In 1834, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Orland’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1880 counted 416 people here.

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 (3), Wikidata (1), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.