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AHistory
History · Paoli

Paoli dates to 1816, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 94% of U.S. towns · #94 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 144 buildings. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1850.

1816founded
3on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
7old photos & papers
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Paoli’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Paoli began, and where its name came from

When was Paoli founded?

1816

Paoli dates its founding to 1816 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 461 in 18502020 census: 3,666210 years

How did Paoli get its name?

Paoli was named for Pasquale Paoli Ash, the son of North Carolina governor Samuel Ashe.

How historic is Paoli?

A

More historic than 94% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1817. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Paoli’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Paoli is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #94 of 593 in Indiana. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Paoli’s overall grade.
Founding era1816, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194024.5% of homes (±8.0) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register3 listings, 146 historic buildings, 467 per 10,000 residents · typical IN town 7.9 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 94%
NewerOlder
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 84%

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 Paoli’s 467 sits above most of its state (95% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 146 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.0 points). Two sources give 1816.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 →

What stands out about Paoli’s past

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

A historic districtThe Paoli Historic District takes in 144 historic buildings.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1895 to 1916, drew every building in Paoli.Deep rootsEstablished in 1816: 210 years of Paoli.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

3 listings protect 146 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
146
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Orange County Courthouse
Orange County CourthouseThomas Newby Braxtan HousePaoli Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival2
Queen Anne2
Neo-Classical Revival1
Italianate1
Orange County CourthouseGreek Revival
Thomas Newby Braxtan HouseNeo-Classical Revival
Paoli Historic DistrictItalianate

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Every building

Paoli, building by building, 1895–1916

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.

Paoli fire insurance map, 1895, sheet 11895Sheet 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.

Timeline

Paoli, 1816 to 1957

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1816
    FoundingPaoli is established
  3. 1817Post officeThe Paoli post office opens
  4. 1865Born hereWilford Bacon Hoggatt is born here
  5. 1873Born hereHarry A. Millis is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1904In the archivePaoli Trestle 1904
  8. 1936Born hereMargaret Hamilton is born here
  9. 1940In the archiveHistoric American Buildings Survey Charles E. Peterson, Photographer June 2, 1940 STAIRWA…
  10. 1945Born hereDavid L. Cornwell is born here
  11. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Paoli came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Paoli.

Read it all →

Paoli was laid out and platted in 1816. It was named for Pasquale Paoli Ash, the son of North Carolina governor Samuel Ashe. A post office has been in operation at Paoli since 1817.

In its first decades, it was noted as a Quaker town that played a role in the Underground Railroad by transporting enslaved people from the South to Canada. In the 1900s, it became known as the site of the Pioneer Mothers Memorial Forest, a surviving fragment of the once-extensive virgin oak forest of southern Indiana.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Paoli, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Paoli Trestle 19041904Paoli Trestle 1904
1910s–1930snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1940s4 items
Historic American Buildings Survey Charles E. Peterson, Photographer June 2, 1940 STAIRWAY DETAIL - Orange County Court…1940Historic American Buildings Survey Charles E. Peterso…Historic American Buildings Survey Lester Jones, Photographer June 2, 1940 DOOR DETAIL (NORTH) - Orange County Courthou…1940Historic American Buildings Survey Lester Jones, Phot…Historic American Buildings Survey Lester Jones, Photographer June 2, 1940 VIEW FROM NORTHWEST - Orange County Courthou…1940Historic American Buildings Survey Lester Jones, Phot…Historic American Buildings Survey Lester Jones, Photographer June 2, 1940 VIEW FROM SOUTHWEST - Orange County Courthou…1940Historic American Buildings Survey Lester Jones, Phot…
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Date unknown2 to date
Orange County Courthouse, State Routes 156 & 37Date?Orange County Courthouse, State Routes 156 & 37Gospel Street Bridge, South Gospel Street, spanning Lick CreekDate?Gospel Street Bridge, South Gospel Street, spanning L…
Today5 recent
Monon Abutment P52504642011Monon Abutment P5250464Monon Abutment P52504632011Monon Abutment P5250463Monon Abutment P52504622011Monon Abutment P5250462Main Street Bridge P52504512011Main Street Bridge P5250451SR 56 and US 150 in2009SR 56 and US 150 in
On the map

Paoli on the map, 1957 to 1993

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

Paoli on the 1957 USGS mapPaoli on the 1970 USGS mapPaoli on the 1993 USGS map1957Paoli 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 Paoli.

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.

Paoli Trestle 1904
Retake this viewPaoli Trestle 1904, 1904

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Paoli, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0001850190019502000Peak: 3,844

Between 461 and 3,844 people in every census since 1850.

17 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Paoli

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Margaret HamiltonAmerican NASA scientist and mathematician · b. 1936
David L. CornwellAmerican politician · b. 1945
Harry A. MillisAmerican economist · b. 1873
Wilford Bacon HoggattAmerican naval officer and sixth Governor of th… · b. 1865
B
Ben TaylorAmerican baseball player · b. 1889
K
Ken TrinkleAmerican baseball player · b. 1919
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Paoli’s post office has been open since 1817.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Braxtons Siding
1cemetery inside Paoli
Paoli Community

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Paoli’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 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 viewPaoli Trestle 1904: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Paoli’s history

What year was Paoli founded?

In 1816, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Paoli’s post office opened in 1817, and the census of 1850 counted 461 people here.

How does Paoli rank for history?

Paoli is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #94 of 593 in Indiana. 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.

What is on the National Register in Paoli?

Three places: the Orange County Courthouse (listed 1975), the Thomas Newby Braxtan House (1989) and the Paoli Historic District (1994).

How old are the homes in Paoli?

25% of Paoli’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.0 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1969.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (10), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.