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C−History
History · Smyrna Township

Half of Smyrna Township’s homes were built after 1974

More historic than 21% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Smyrna Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974.

0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

About Smyrna Township’s history

How historic is Smyrna Township?

C−

More historic than 21% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives Smyrna Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Smyrna Township is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Smyrna Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19406.8% of homes (±7.4) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%C+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 21%
NewerOlder

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 Smyrna 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 (±7.4 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 Smyrna Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Smyrna Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Smyrna Township, and 5 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Smyrna Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Smyrna Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Volga
1856–1904
Creswell
1869–1902
Wakefield
1899–1905
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
MidwayNeavill GroveSmyrnaVolgaWakefield
Gone or out of use
Burke's Airportairport
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Smyrna Township
FordHopewellKinnearLawlerMcKayNeavillShiloh

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Smyrna Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Smyrna Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Smyrna Township is one of ten townships in Jefferson County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,116 and it contained 453 housing units. Created on June 16, 1847, by the Jefferson County Commissioners, Smyrna was the last of Jefferson County's 10 townships to be formed. It is largely rural with only small unincorporated areas as population centers. No post offices operate in the township. The following post offices once operated in the township: Creswell (May 29, 1856-Nov. 30, 1892) and (June 6, 1893-Sept. 13, 1902); Volga (May 29, 1856 – July 14, 1904); Wakefield (July 8, 1899-Feb. 15, 1905). 6.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,096 in 2010, 1,116 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Smyrna Township, 1856 to 1905

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe Volga post office opens
  3. 1869Post officeThe Creswell post office opens
  4. 1899Post officeThe Wakefield post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1902Post officeThe Creswell post office closes
  7. 1904Post officeThe Volga post office closes
  8. 1905Post officeThe Wakefield post office closes
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.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Smyrna Township

Nobody well known was born in Smyrna Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Robert PrinceAmerican video game composer · b. 1945
William Hayden EnglishAmerican politician · b. 1822
Paul WolfAmerican swimmer, Olympic silver medalist, form… · b. 1915
David Graham PhillipsAmerican writer · b. 1867
Danny GibsonAmerican basketball player · b. 1984
Charles Reid BarnesAmerican botanist · b. 1858
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Graham TownshipIts storyB−Lancaster Township2 historic placesARepublican TownshipIts storyC+Madison Township7 historic placesA+

Questions about Smyrna Township’s history

How does Smyrna Township rank for history?

Smyrna Township is more historic than 21% 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 Smyrna Township?

7% of Smyrna Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.4 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1974.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 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.