The story
Read it all →How Pershing Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Pershing Township.
The Frank Wheeler Hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
BHistory
History · Pershing Township
1 of Pershing Township’s places is on the National Register
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Pershing Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976.
1on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
About Pershing Township’s history
How historic is Pershing Township?
B
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Pershing Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pershing Township is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns. 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 Pershing Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19407.3% of homes (±8.2) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 3 historic buildings, 31.6 per 10,000 residents · typical IN town 7.9 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 56%
NewerOlder
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 Pershing Township’s 31.6 sits above most of its state (70% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±8.2 points).
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 Pershing Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Pershing Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pershing Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Another post office, Spraytown, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Freetown
Spraytown
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bald KnobsFreetownSpraytown
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pershing Township
LucasSpraytownWaggoner
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Pershing Township, 1850 to 1909
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1850Post officeThe Freetown post office opens
- 1878Post officeThe Spraytown post office opens
- 20th century
- 1909Post officeThe Spraytown post office closes
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumOn the National Register
1 historic place in Pershing Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1991
Wheeler, Frank, Hotel
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
Queen Anne1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Pershing Township
Nobody well known was born in Pershing 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 Pershing Township’s history
How does Pershing Township rank for history?
Pershing Township is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns. 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 Pershing Township?
One place: the Wheeler, Frank, Hotel (listed 1991).
How old are the homes in Pershing Township?
7% of Pershing Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.2 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.