Sheridan’s post office opened in 1871, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 81% of U.S. towns · #218 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 38 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1880.
The Sheridan post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Boxley (1837) and Bakers Corner (1873), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 308 in 18802020 census: 3,106155 years
How historic is Sheridan?
A−
More historic than 81% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Sheridan post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Sheridan’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sheridan is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #218 of 593 in Indiana. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sheridan’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 Sheridan’s 125 sits above most of its state (83% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 40 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Sheridan’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Sheridan, once the second-largest town in Hamilton County, lies on the south edge of land originally owned by George Boxley, a merchant and miller in Virginia who had fled from there ahead of bounty hunters because he was also an abolitionist suspected of fomenting a failed slave rebellion in 1815. Considerable recent development has greatly increased the population of this historic town. The Sheridan Downtown Commercial Historic District encompasses approximately four blocks along Main Street from the former Monon railroad right-of-way north to Veteran's Park and Pioneer Hill, the site of the George Boxley Cabin, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Passages that mention Sheridan, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of western Nebraska and its people. General history. Cheyenne, Box Butte, Deuel, Garden, Sioux, Kimball, Morrill, Sheridan, Scotts Bluff, Banner, and Dawes counties. A group often called the panhandle of Nebraska1921Read the page →
Read the text
work on a farm but remained only two months before coming to the Panhandle and Sioux county. He located on a pre-emption claim close to Sheridan Gates, on Bevear creek, April 22, 1884. To earn money he worked for Nick ]\Iessenger, who ran a saw mill on Bordeaux creek, and so secured the lumber with which to put up a house on his claim.
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
Sheridan, 1828 to 1966
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sheridan. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1961Sheridan 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 Sheridan.
Every building
Sheridan, building by building, 1896–1909
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The Sheridan post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Sheridan rank for history?
Sheridan is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #218 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 Sheridan?
Three places: the Davenport-Bradfield House (listed 1985), the George Boxley Cabin (2005) and the Sheridan Downtown Commercial Historic District (2007).
How old are the homes in Sheridan?
33% of Sheridan’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.0 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (7), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
![work on a farm but remained only two months before coming to the Panhandle and Sioux county. He located on a pre-emption claim close to Sheridan Gates, on Bevear creek, April 22, 1884. To earn money he worked for Nick ]\Iessenger, who ran a saw mill on Bordeaux creek, and so secured the lumber with…](https://images.townratings.com/story/5046/bk-c10b4625c9671277-l.jpg)
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