The story
Read it all →How Owen Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Owen Township.
Owen Township was established around 1830. It was named after John Owen, a county commissioner.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
CHistory
History · Owen Township
Half of Owen Township’s homes were built after 1992
More historic than 26% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Owen Township was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: maps from 1905 on.
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
Where Owen Township’s name came from
How did Owen Township get its name?
Owen Township was named after John Owen, a county commissioner.
How historic is Owen Township?
C
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 26% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Owen Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Owen Township is more historic than 26% 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 Owen Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19409.8% of homes (±8.3) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%B−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical IN town 7.9 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 26%
NewerOlder
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 Owen 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 (±8.3 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 Owen Township’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 Owen Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Owen Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19056 editions of the USGS map, 1905 to 1993. Watch Owen Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Owen Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Owen Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hibernia
Solon
Vesta
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
HiberniaSunset VillageVesta
1cemetery inside Owen Township
Olive Branch
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Owen Township on the map, 1905 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Owen Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1905Prospect sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Owen Township.
Timeline
Owen Township, 1835 to 1933
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1835Post officeThe Hibernia post office opens
- 1868Post officeThe Hibernia post office closes
- 1879Post officeThe Solon post office opens
- 1884Post officeThe Vesta post office opens
- 20th century
- 1902Post officeThe Vesta post office closes
- 1905
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1933Post officeThe Solon post office closes
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.
Add from your albumFamous people
See all →Famous people close to Owen Township
Nobody well known was born in Owen Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Owen Township’s history
How does Owen Township rank for history?
Owen Township is more historic than 26% 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 Owen Township?
10% of Owen Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.3 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1992.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.