The story
Read it all →How Pendleton came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Pendleton.
Pendleton was platted in 1830, and incorporated as a town in 1854. It was named for town founder Thomas Pendleton.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
AHistory
History · Pendleton
Pendleton’s post office opened in 1826, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 93% of U.S. towns · #116 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 419 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1850.
1826first post office
2on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
9famous people
Quick answers
How Pendleton began, and where its name came from
When was Pendleton founded?
1826
The Pendleton post office opened in 1826, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 389 in 18502020 census: 4,717200 years
How did Pendleton get its name?
Pendleton was named for town founder Thomas Pendleton.
How historic is Pendleton?
A
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 93% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Pendleton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Pendleton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pendleton is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #116 of 593 in Indiana. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pendleton’s overall grade.
Founding era1826, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194019.5% of homes (±5.2) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register2 listings, 419 historic buildings, 787 per 10,000 residents · typical IN town 7.9 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 93%
NewerOlder
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 81%
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 Pendleton’s 787 sits above most of its state (98% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 419 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% 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 (±5.2 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 →
What stands out about Pendleton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A historic districtThe Pendleton Historic District takes in 419 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1892 to 1914, drew every building in Pendleton.Deep rootsA post office since 1826: 200 years of Pendleton.
★ What stands out · On the National Register
2 listings protect 419 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
419
each building in a district counts
first listed
1991
Pendleton Historic District
DistrictsStructures
Architectural styles listings
Late Victorian1
Bungalow1
Federal1
Arts and Crafts1
Pratt Thru Truss1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Help out
Start Pendleton’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pendleton’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Every building
Pendleton, building by building, 1892–1914
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.
1892Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Pendleton in 1913
Passages that mention Pendleton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Old Pendleton district, with a genealogy of the leading families of the district1913 · page 20Read the page →
Read the text
Very early after the Town of Pendleton became the county seat of Pendleton County the citizens became interested in educational matters. In 1808, the legislature passed an act authorizing and directing the commissioner appointed to sell the lots into which the tract of land purchased from Isaac Lynch had been divided to turn over all the money in their hands to certain persons therein named for the purpose of establishing a circulat-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Old Pendleton district, with a genealogy of the leading families of the district1913 · page 16Read the page →
Read the text
Early in the eighteenth century many of the wealthy residents of the low lands, along the sea coast, were also attracted by the great advantages which the Town of Pendleton afforded as a summer resort and came to Pendleton to spend the summer. They also purchased farms and erected large, and some of them, very fine residences for summer homes. But many of them became permanent residents. So it came about that all
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.
Timeline
Pendleton, 1826 to 1993
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1826Post officeThe Pendleton post office opens
- 1883Born hereWalter Dorwin Teague is born here
- 1896Born hereWilliam Walker is born here
- 20th century
- 1920
Born hereFred Wilt is born here - 1953
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1980
In the archiveDairy Bar ice cream sign, Route 67 - 1993
Born hereKellen Dunham is born here
By decade
Pendleton, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1980s1 item
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
2016
2016
2012
2008
2003On the map
Pendleton on the map, 1953 to 1966
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Pendleton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1953Pendleton sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Pendleton.
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.
Retake this viewDairy Bar ice cream sign, Route 67, 1980
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Pendleton’s page.
Retake this view · +15People over time
Pendleton, census by census
Grew from 389 people in 1850 to 4,717 in 2020, more than tenfold.
17 censuses, 1850–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Pendleton’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →9 famous people were born in Pendleton
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Places that used to be
Old corners and burying grounds
Pendleton’s post office has been open since 1826.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Idlewold
1cemetery inside Pendleton
Grove Lawn
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Pendleton’s history
What year was Pendleton founded?
The Pendleton post office opened in 1826, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Pendleton rank for history?
Pendleton is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #116 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 Pendleton?
Two places: the Pendleton Historic District (listed 1991) and the Madison County Bridge No. 149 (2008).
How old are the homes in Pendleton?
20% of Pendleton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1990.
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 Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.