From Spiceland Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Spiceland Township began
When was Spiceland Township founded?
1838
The Spiceland Township post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Ogden (1840), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 370 in 18702020 census: 2,184188 years
How historic is Spiceland Township?
B+
More historic than 73% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Spiceland Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Spiceland Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Spiceland Township is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Spiceland Township’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 Spiceland 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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 Spiceland Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Spiceland was platted in 1850. The town was so named on account of spice bushes near the original town site. It was primarily an agricultural area for spices.
In February 2001 James Parker and Robert Tulloch, wanted in the 2001 Dartmouth College murders in New Hampshire, were arrested at a truck stop here. They had hitchhiked with truckers to this point and been tracked down by police after a driver's casual announcement on his CB radio that the pair were traveling west.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Spiceland Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1950Dunreith 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 Spiceland Township.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewSpiceland-indiana-from-above
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Spiceland Township’s page.
The Spiceland Township post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Spiceland Township rank for history?
Spiceland Township is more historic than 73% 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 Spiceland Township?
39% of Spiceland Township’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 1952.
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 (4), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
Date?
2016
2008
2008
