The story
Read it all →How Perry Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Perry Township.
Perry Township was established in 1830. It was named for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
A−History
History · Perry Township
11% of Perry Township’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #232 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
13 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 3 buildings. Below: maps from 1908 on.
13on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
Where Perry Township’s name came from
How did Perry Township get its name?
Perry Township was named for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry.
How historic is Perry Township?
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What drives the grade ↓More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
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 80% of U.S. towns, #232 of 593 in Indiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Perry Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194010.6% of homes (±1.7) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register13 listings, 383 historic buildings, 72.1 per 10,000 residents · typical IN town 7.9 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 80%
NewerOlder
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 61%
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 72.1 sits above most of its state (78% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 383 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% 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 (±1.7 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 Perry 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 Perry Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Landmarks on the Register13 places on the National Register.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Perry Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19086 editions of the USGS map, 1908 to 1990. Watch Perry Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Perry Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Perry 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
13 listings protect 383 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
13
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
383
each building in a district counts
first listed
2018
Carter-Randall-Parker House
BuildingsDistricts
All 3 listings
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, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Sanders, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Clear Creek
Sanders
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Clear CreekHandySanders
Gone or out of use
Maple Hill Quarrymine
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Perry Township
Clear CreekMount Salem
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Perry Township, 1870 to 1912
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Perry Township, decade by decade
2007
2007
2007
2007
2007
2006On the map
Perry Township on the map, 1908 to 1990
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Perry Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1908Bloomington sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Perry Township.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Perry Township
Nobody well known was born in Perry 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 Perry Township’s history
How does Perry Township rank for history?
Perry Township is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #232 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?
13 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Carter-Randall-Parker House (listed 2018, the first), and 1 historic district, the Tate-Tatum Farm, with 3 contributing buildings. 383 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Perry Township?
11% of Perry Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 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 (3), 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.