Tipton dates to 1839, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 96% of U.S. towns · #60 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 45 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1845.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Tipton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tipton is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #60 of 593 in Indiana. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Tipton’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 Tipton’s 89.0 sits above most of its state (81% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 47 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.5 points). Two sources give 1839.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Tipton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The Tipton County Courthouse and Tipton County Jail and Sheriff's Home were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The first non-native person to settle in the area now known as Tipton was Samuel King, who purchased land between 1835 and 1836. The land was still a part of Hamilton County. He resided in Rush County, but visited the area frequently. Strawtown, Indiana, was the closest trading post. King decided to found a town on the land he purchased and he platted the town on April 16, 1839. The town was named Kingston. Despite efforts, King failed to sell any of the plots that he platted. A few Miami Indians resided in the area still.
Passages that mention Tipton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Counties of Howard and Tipton, Indiana. Historical and biographical..1883 · page 35Read the page →
Read the text
Grant Counties into Madison County, its southeast corner was about four miles southeast of Independence at the center of Section 27 : thence running south of west, parallel with the general course of the Wabash River, across Tipton County and through the town of Tipton, and crossing the west line of Tipton County about three miles from its southwest corner to where it intersects a line running north and south from Logansport, which is the western boundary of Howard County, one mile west of range line number one east ; thence north to Logansport ; thence up
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Counties of Howard and Tipton, Indiana. Historical and biographical..1883 · page 730Read the page →
Read the text
for the St. Louis & Toledo Railroad; he graded about seven miles of said bed, when the company broke up, and left Mr. Berryman the loser of about $5,000. The second of the above-mentioned years he engaged in grading and graveling Jefferson street, in the town of Tipton, and in that venture he lost $2,000. He then resumed the saw mill, and in 1875 located a mill at Tipton, and has been doing a good business ever since.
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Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana1898Read the page →
Read the text
some of these structures are still standing as monuments of his skill and reliability. In 1863, in company with two brothers, he rented a sawmill in Indianapolis, which they successfully operated until some time in the year 1865, when they moved to Tipton county and purchased a sawmill at Jackson Station and four hundred acres of timber land, and here they labored industriously and perseveringly, buying more timber land as their needs required, and selecting the best trees, but never using rail timber.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana1898Read the page →
Read the text
In October, 1848, he came to Tipton, and after remaining with his father a short time he engaged as a mail-carrier between Tipton and Wabash town, commencing January i, 1856, and continuing until April, 1S5S ; then he commenced carrying the mail between Tipton and Berlin ; the next year Normandy was added, and in 1862 the Pickard's Mill route was added. He continued in the mail service till September, 1877, when the railroad was completed through here, and then he engaged in fencing the land he now occupies. He moved upon the place in i860. He has a fine farm of eighty
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Tipton, 1839 to 1991
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1839, according to Wikidata. Tipton’s post office opened in 1845, and the census of 1850 counted 197 people here.
How does Tipton rank for history?
Tipton is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #60 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.
What is on the National Register in Tipton?
Three places: the Tipton County Courthouse (listed 1984), the Tipton County Jail and Sheriff's Home (1984) and the Tipton Courthouse Square Historic District (2026).
How old are the homes in Tipton?
43% of Tipton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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