On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Smithville-Sanders is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #433 of 593 in Indiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Smithville-Sanders’ 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 Smithville-Sanders’ 9.1 sits near the middle of its state (61% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±2.9 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 Smithville-Sanders’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Smithville-Sanders yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Smithville-Sanders is a census-designated place (CDP) encompassing the communities of Smithville and Sanders in Monroe County, Indiana, United States. Its population was 3,323 as of the 2020 census.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,184 to 3,323 (+4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Smithville-Sanders. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1956Clear Creek 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 Smithville-Sanders.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Smithville-Sanders
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Smithville-Sanders
Nobody well known was born in Smithville-Sanders itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Smithville-Sanders is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #433 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 Smithville-Sanders?
3% of Smithville-Sanders’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1985.
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. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
