The story
Read it all →How Richland Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Richland Township.
Richland was organized in 1834. It was named from their productive farmland.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B−History
History · Richland Township
Richland Township dates to 1834, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns · #381 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Below: maps from 1960 on.
1834founded
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Richland Township began, and where its name came from
When was Richland Township founded?
1834
Richland Township dates its founding to 1834 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1878.
2020 census: 5,076192 years
How did Richland Township get its name?
Richland Township was named from their productive farmland.
How historic is Richland Township?
B−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1878. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Richland Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Richland Township is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #381 of 593 in Indiana. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Richland Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1834, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194011.4% of homes (±4.7) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%B−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical IN town 7.9 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 50%
NewerOlder
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 36%
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 Richland 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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1834.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 points).
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 Richland 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 Richland Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Richland 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
Richland Township, 1834 to 1960
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1834FoundingRichland Township is established
- 1878Post officeThe Funks post office opens
- 1887Post officeThe Funks post office closes
- 20th century
- 1960
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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
Richland Township on the map, 1960 to 1981
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Richland Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1960Gilman 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 Richland Township.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Richland Township
Nobody well known was born in Richland Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Another post office, Funks, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Moonville
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Richland Township
HolsonJonesMoonvilleNelsonSmithWesley Chapel
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.
Questions about Richland Township’s history
What year was Richland Township founded?
In 1834, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Richland Township’s post office opened in 1878.
How does Richland Township rank for history?
Richland Township is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #381 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.
How old are the homes in Richland Township?
11% of Richland Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1967.
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 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.