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History · Owensburg

Owensburg’s post office opened in 1851

Most of Owensburg was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: maps from 1957 on and old-book passages.

1851first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Quick answers

How Owensburg began, and where its name came from

When was Owensburg founded?

1851

The Owensburg post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 402175 years

How did Owensburg get its name?

Owensburg was named in honor of the Owens family of early settlers.

Founding year: the first Owensburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

What stands out about Owensburg’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 Owensburg are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Owensburg’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Owensburg’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 so far

Owensburg, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Owensburg yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Owensburg is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jackson Township, Greene County, Indiana, United States. It was named in honor of the Owens family of early settlers. As of the 2020 census, Owensburg had a population of 402.

Its first post office opened in 1851. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 406 in 2010, 402 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Owensburg in 1875

Passages that mention Owensburg, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Our first blacksmith shop was established by Silbern Owens, on the corner of Mr. Emanuel Hatfield's land, where the town of Owensburg noAV stands. That village was named for Mr Owens.
Early history of Greene County, Indiana1875 · page 72Read the page →
Read the text

Our first blacksmith shop was established by Silbern Owens, on the corner of Mr. Emanuel Hatfield's land, where the town of Owensburg noAV stands. That village was named for Mr Owens.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
to Lawrence county, near Springville. He moved to Greene county, in 1827, and settled on Indian creek, near Owensburg. In the year 1833, he settled on a farm in Richland township, adjoining the farm of David Heaton. In 1835, he moved to Bloomfield, and resided there until
Early history of Greene County, Indiana1875 · page 69Read the page →
Read the text

to Lawrence county, near Springville. He moved to Greene county, in 1827, and settled on Indian creek, near Owensburg. In the year 1833, he settled on a farm in Richland township, adjoining the farm of David Heaton. In 1835, he moved to Bloomfield, and resided there until

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.

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On the map

Owensburg on the map, 1957 to 1975

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

Owensburg on the 1957 USGS mapOwensburg on the 1975 USGS map1957Owensburg 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 Owensburg.

Questions about Owensburg’s history

What year was Owensburg founded?

The Owensburg post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.