Perry Township dates to 1822, and 7 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 73% of U.S. towns · #273 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
7 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 60 buildings. Most of Perry Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1948 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1838.
History grade
What drives Perry Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Perry Township is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns, #273 of 593 in Indiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Perry Township’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Perry Township ranks #159 on History.
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 Perry Township’s 10.5 sits near the middle of its state (63% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 128 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1822.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 points) is firm at this size.
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 Perry Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The story so far
Perry Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Perry Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Perry Township is one of the nine townships of Marion County, Indiana, United States, located in the south central part of the county. It was laid out in 1822 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and named after Oliver Hazard Perry – a War of 1812 hero. The township population was 121,768 at the 2020 census, up from 108,972 at 2010. This includes the largest community of Burmese-Americans in the United States, numbering over 24,000. Through the White River, Perry and Decatur townships share the only water boundary among Marion County's townships.
Perry Township was established in 1822. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 108,972 to 121,768 (+12%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Perry Township, 1822 to 1960
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Perry Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1948Maywood 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 Perry Township.
People over time
Perry Township, census by census
Between 285 and 2,342 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Perry Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Perry Township
Nobody well known was born in Perry Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1822, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Perry Township’s post office opened in 1838, and the census of 1880 counted 388 people here.
How does Perry Township rank for history?
Perry Township is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns, #273 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 Perry Township?
7 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Hanna-Ochler-Elder House (listed 1978, the first), and 1 historic district, the Bluff Road Historic District, with 60 contributing buildings. 128 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Perry Township?
7% of Perry Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 (24), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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.
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