Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1960 on, and the census since 1880.
Springport dates its founding to 1868 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.
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 Springport’s history is told.
Peaked at 253 in 1960; 131 people lived here in 2020.
12 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Springport’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Springport.
Springport was platted in 1868 when the Fort Wayne, Muncie and Cincinnati Railroad was extended to that point. The town took its name from springs near the railroad station. A post office has been in operation in Springport since 1869.
Springport Christian Church, founded in 1904, is currently the largest building in town.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Springport. 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 Springport.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Springport’s page.
Retake this view · +15Nobody well known was born in Springport itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1868, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Springport’s post office opened in 1869, and the census of 1880 counted 118 people here.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (1), 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.
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