The story
Read it all →How Penn Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Penn Township.
The Mishawaka Reservoir Caretaker's Residence was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Evking22 · CC BY-SA 4.0AHistory
History · Penn Township
18% of Penn Township’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 87% of U.S. towns · #171 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
11 places in town are on the National Register. Below: maps from 1958 on.
11on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
About Penn Township’s history
How historic is Penn Township?
A
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 87% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Penn Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Penn Township is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #171 of 593 in Indiana. All 2 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 Penn Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194018.1% of homes (±1.6) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register11 listings, 237 historic buildings, 34.5 per 10,000 residents · typical IN town 7.9 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 87%
NewerOlder
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 71%
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 Penn Township’s 34.5 sits above most of its state (71% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 237 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% 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 (±1.6 points) is firm at this size.
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 Penn 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 Penn Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Landmarks on the Register11 places on the National Register.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Penn Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Penn Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Penn Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the National Register
11 listings protect 237 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
11
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
237
each building in a district counts
first listed
1998
Mishawaka Reservoir Caretaker's Residence
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
19th and 20th Century Revivals1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Another post office, Tamarack, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Hi-View AdditionPleasant ValleyTamarack Grange
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Penn Township
Chapel Hill Memorial GardensEutzlerFerrisvillePleasant Valley
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Penn Township, 1837 to 1958
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1837Post officeThe Tamarack post office opens
- 1838Post officeThe Tamarack post office closes
- 20th century
- 1958
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Penn Township, decade by decade
2015
2015
2013
2013
2000
2000On the map
Penn Township on the map, 1958 to 1992
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Penn Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1958South Bend East 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 Penn Township.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Penn Township
Nobody well known was born in Penn 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 Penn Township’s history
How does Penn Township rank for history?
Penn Township is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #171 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 Penn Township?
11 listings: 1 building, among them the Mishawaka Reservoir Caretaker's Residence (listed 1998, the first). 237 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Penn Township?
18% of Penn Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (1), 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.