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History · Pennville

Pennville dates to 1836, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1960 on, and the census since 1890.

1836founded
0on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pennville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pennville began

When was Pennville founded?

1836

Pennville dates its founding to 1836 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 697 in 18902020 census: 621190 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1848.The full story ↓

What stands out about Pennville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Pennville’s homes were built before 1938.Deep rootsEstablished in 1836: 190 years of Pennville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pennville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pennville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewCoffee Pot Restaurant, U.S. Route 40: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Pennville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pennville.

Read it all →

The history of Pennville began when Samuel Grisell and Moses Hamilton left their homes in Columbiana County, Ohio, in the spring of 1834 to search for government land for a permanent home. Their journey led them to Jay County, Indiana, and on February 10, 1835, Grisell received a Land Patent at the General Land Office at Fort Wayne, purchasing the land "for the North East quarter of Section thirty-five, in Township twenty-four of Range twelve," which contained 160 acres (0.65 km2). Hamilton was the first to move to the new area, and Grisell came shortly thereafter. It is generally accepted, although not proven, that Grisell then platted the land into a town in August 1836, and named it New Lisbon, presumably after the Village of Lisbon in his home county of Columbiana County, Ohio. New Lisbon was short lived and the name of the town changed to Camden around 1837 because there was anothe…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pennville, 1836 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1836
    FoundingPennville is established
  3. 1848Post officeThe Pennville post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1932Born hereJim Paxson, Sr. is born here
  6. 1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Pennville, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Coffee Pot Restaurant, U.S. Route 40Date?Coffee Pot Restaurant, U.S. Route 40
Today1 recent
Pennville, Indiana2016Pennville, Indiana
On the map

Pennville on the map, 1960 to 1986

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

Pennville on the 1960 USGS mapPennville on the 1986 USGS map1960Pennville 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 Pennville.

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.

Coffee Pot Restaurant, U.S. Route 40
Retake this viewCoffee Pot Restaurant, U.S. Route 40

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Pennville, census by census

02004006008001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 805

Between 578 and 805 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Questions about Pennville’s history

What year was Pennville founded?

In 1836, according to Wikidata. Pennville’s post office opened in 1848, and the census of 1890 counted 697 people here.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (1), 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) 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.