Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 23% of U.S. towns · #522 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Most of South Haven was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Below: maps from 1940 on and the census since 1970.
More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, South Haven is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #522 of 593 in Indiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 South Haven’s 1.4 sits near the middle of its state (47% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how South Haven’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of South Haven yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
South Haven is a census-designated place in Portage Township, Porter County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 census, South Haven had a population of 5,084.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 5,282 to 5,084 (-4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Weddings 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 South Haven. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of South Haven.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 4,876 and 6,679 people in every census since 1970.
6 censuses, 1970–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on South Haven’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in South Haven itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
South Haven is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #522 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.
2% of South Haven’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1972.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
