The story
Read it all →How Pierce Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Pierce Township.
Pierce Township was organized in 1853. It was named for President Franklin Pierce.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B−History
History · Pierce Township
1 of Pierce Township’s places is on the National Register
More historic than 46% of U.S. towns · #393 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Campbell-Gill House. Most of Pierce Township was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: maps from 1950 on and the census since 1890.
1on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
Where Pierce Township’s name came from
How did Pierce Township get its name?
Pierce Township was named for President Franklin Pierce.
How historic is Pierce Township?
B−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 46% 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 Pierce Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pierce Township is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #393 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 Pierce Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19405.0% of homes (±2.8) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 3 historic buildings, 12.0 per 10,000 residents · typical IN town 7.9 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 46%
NewerOlder
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 34%
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 Pierce Township’s 12.0 sits near the middle of its state (65% 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 (±2.8 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 Pierce 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 Pierce Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pierce 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
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Farabee's Station
Farabee
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
FarabeeShorts Corner
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pierce Township
Mount Pleasant ChurchNew Old Blue RiverOld Blue RiverWilson - Mead
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Pierce Township, 1859 to 1950
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 map
Pierce Township on the map, 1950 to 1989
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Pierce Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1950Salem 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 Pierce Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Pierce 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
2019
Campbell-Gill House
Buildings
All 1 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Pierce Township, census by census
Between 1,018 and 2,666 people in every census since 1890.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Pierce Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Pierce Township
Nobody well known was born in Pierce 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 Pierce Township’s history
How does Pierce Township rank for history?
Pierce Township is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #393 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 Pierce Township?
One place: the Campbell-Gill House (listed 2019).
How old are the homes in Pierce Township?
5% of Pierce Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1984.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.