Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1818.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Prairieton Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Prairieton Township is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Prairieton Township’s overall grade.
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 Prairieton Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (22% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.9 points). Two sources give 1837.
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 Prairieton Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Prairieton was laid out July 22, 1837, by Robert Hoggatt. Situated on Honey Creek, the town also was on the old Vincennes wagon road. Moses Hoggatt had established a post office and store there around 1818, and in its early years the town was known simply as Hoggatt's Store. Hoggatt and then his son Robert Hoggatt were the first shopkeepers. The Quakers were the predominating influence in this prairie in the pioneer days. It became incorporated as a town in 1870 and by 1890 had a population of approximately 236.
A post office was established under the name Hoggatts in 1818. It was renamed to Prairieton in 1840, and is still currently in operation.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Prairieton Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1940Pimento 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 Prairieton Township.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Honey Creek, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Honey Creek
1818–1840
Prairieton
1840–today
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Prairieton
Gone or out of use
Higginbotham Fieldairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Prairieton Township
New HarmonyPrairieton
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1837, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Prairieton Township’s post office opened in 1818.
How does Prairieton Township rank for history?
Prairieton Township is more historic than 63% 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.
How old are the homes in Prairieton Township?
23% of Prairieton Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.9 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (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.
2016
