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History · Otwell

Otwell’s post office opened in 1864

Most of Otwell was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1963.

1864first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Photo: Chris Flook · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Otwell began

When was Otwell founded?

1864

The Otwell post office opened in 1864, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 396162 years
Founding year: the first Otwell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Otwell’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Otwell are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Otwell’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Otwell’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Otwell came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Otwell.

Read it all →

Otwell was originally called Pierceville, being named after President Franklin Pierce, and under this name was laid out in 1855. The name was changed to Otwell in 1864 by a popular petition of its residents. The name had to be changed when the post office came because there was already a Pierceville in Indiana. The name Otwell is derived from the middle name of Robert Otwell Brown, the son of an early settler.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Otwell, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Otwell, Indiana2016Otwell, Indiana

Questions about Otwell’s history

What year was Otwell founded?

The Otwell post office opened in 1864, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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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 (1), Wikipedia and Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.