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CHistory
History · Palestine

Palestine’s post office opened in 1839

More historic than 25% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Palestine was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988.

1839first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Palestine began

When was Palestine founded?

1839

The Palestine post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name.

187 years

How historic is Palestine?

C

More historic than 25% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Palestine post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Palestine’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Palestine is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Palestine’s overall grade.
Founding era1839, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±3.4) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%D−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 25%
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 Palestine’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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). 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 →

Questions about Palestine’s history

What year was Palestine founded?

The Palestine post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Palestine rank for history?

Palestine is more historic than 25% 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 Palestine?

0.0% of Palestine’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1988.

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).