Most of Railroad Township was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1959 on and old-book passages.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Railroad Township is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Railroad 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 Railroad 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 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 (±5.9 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 Railroad Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
San Pierre
1855–today
English Lake
1860–1960
Pierre
1894–1899
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
English LakeLomaxSan Pierre
Gone or out of use
Archangels LandingairportCrawford Fieldairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Railroad Township
All SaintsSan Pierre Public
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Railroad Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Railroad Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Railroad Township is one of nine townships in Starke County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,211 (down from 1,226 at 2010) and it contained 531 housing units.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,226 in 2010, 1,211 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Railroad Township in 1915
Passages that mention Railroad Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A standard history of Starke County, Indiana1915 · page 695Read the page →
Read the text
side line. He came to the county in 1884 and for several years was employed by the Erie Railroad, and twenty-five years ago became connected with the Indiana Pipe Line Company at the Kankakee Station on the Kankakee River in Railroad Township. He helped to unload the first carload of lumber which went into the construction of the company's buildings at that place. The company erected there one of its large pumping stations, originally with six boilers, and the capacity has since been increased from 20,000 pounds per day to more than forty thousand
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A standard history of Starke County, Indiana1915 · page 632Read the page →
Read the text
William J. Solt, M. D. Not only in his profession as a physician and surgeon, in which he takes rank with the best in Starke County, but also as a public-spirited citizen, Dr. William J. Solt has been one of the leading factors in the village of San Pierre and Railroad Township since he arrived there on June 28, 1900. Doctor Solt is a leader in everything of a community nature, possesses a strong personality, is a strong and vigorous and efficient worker in everything he undertakes, and in the past fifteen years has built up a large and valuable practice, both in and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Railroad Township, 1855 to 1960
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Railroad Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1959North Judson 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 Railroad Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Railroad Township
Nobody well known was born in Railroad Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Railroad Township is more historic than 24% 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 Railroad Township?
9% of Railroad Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
