The story
Read it all →How Plain Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Plain Township.
The Robert Orr Polygonal Barn was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B+History
History · Plain Township
2 of Plain Township’s places are on the National Register
More historic than 67% of U.S. towns · #306 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Most of Plain Township was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Below: maps from 1950 on.
2on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
About Plain Township’s history
How historic is Plain Township?
B+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 67% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Plain Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Plain Township is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #306 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 Plain Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19409.4% of homes (±2.8) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register2 listings, 22 historic buildings, 24.8 per 10,000 residents · typical IN town 7.9 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 67%
NewerOlder
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 48%
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 Plain Township’s 24.8 sits above most of its state (69% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 22 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% 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 Plain Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Oswego
Monoquet
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Arrowhead ParkBell Rohr ParkHighlands ParkIsland ParkMonoquetOsborn LandingOswegoSilver PointStoneburner LandingStony RidgeWa-Will-Away Park
Gone or out of use
Garber Fieldairport
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Plain Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Plain Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Plain Township, 1840 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
Plain Township on the map, 1950 to 1992
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Plain Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1950Leesburg 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 Plain Township.
On the National Register
2 listings protect 22 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
22
each building in a district counts
first listed
1992
John Pound Store
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
Greek Revival1
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 Plain Township
Nobody well known was born in Plain Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
K
Karl E. WeickOrganisational psychologist · b. 1936
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Plain Township’s history
How does Plain Township rank for history?
Plain Township is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #306 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 Plain Township?
2 listings: 1 building, among them the John Pound Store (listed 1992, the first). 22 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Plain Township?
9% of Plain 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 1995.
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, 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.