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B−History
History · Topeka

Topeka’s post office opened in 1893, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1916 on and the census since 1920.

1893first post office
0on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Chris Flook · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Topeka began

When was Topeka founded?

1893

The Topeka post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 512 in 19202020 census: 1,206133 years

How historic is Topeka?

B−

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Topeka post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Topeka’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Topeka is more historic than 48% 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 Topeka’s overall grade.
Founding era1893, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194031.8% of homes (±10.0) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%ANational 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 48%
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 Topeka’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 D to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.0 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 Topeka’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 Topeka are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Topeka’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Topeka’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
The story so far

Topeka, in brief

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

Topeka is a town in Clearspring and Eden townships, LaGrange County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Topeka had a population of 1,206. Topeka is located approximately eleven miles south of Shipshewana, Indiana. Topeka was likely so named because the landscape reminded settlers of Topeka, Kansas.

Its first post office opened in 1893. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,153 to 1,206 (+5%).

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

Timeline

Topeka, 1891 to 1978

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891Born hereByron Price is born here
  3. 1893Post officeThe Topeka post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1955Born hereGary Yoder is born here
  6. 1959On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1978Born hereAmy Yoder Begley is born here
By decade

Topeka, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Hand-washed clothes hang out to dry on an Amish farm near the settlement of Topeka in LaGrange County, Indiana2016Hand-washed clothes hang out to dry on an Amish farm …Hand-washed clothes hang out to dry on an Amish farm near the settlement of Topeka in LaGrange County, Indiana2016Hand-washed clothes hang out to dry on an Amish farm …A tidy Amish farm, with the absence of electric wires entering the farmstead, near Topeka in LaGrange County, Indiana2016A tidy Amish farm, with the absence of electric wires…Topeka, Indiana2016Topeka, IndianaTopeka, Indiana2012Topeka, Indiana
On the map

Topeka on the map, 1959 to 1981

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Topeka. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Topeka on the 1959 USGS mapTopeka on the 1981 USGS map1959Topeka 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 Topeka.

Every building

Topeka, building by building, 1916

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 sheet.

Topeka fire insurance map, 1916, sheet 11916Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Topeka, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001920194019601980200020201,206

Grew from 512 people in 1920 to 1,206 in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Topeka’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Topeka

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
A
Amy Yoder BegleyAmerican distance runner · b. 1978
Byron PriceAmerican journalist, government official · b. 1891
G
Gary YoderAmerican former basketball player · b. 1955
A
Andrew BegleyAmerican long-distance runner

Questions about Topeka’s history

What year was Topeka founded?

The Topeka post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Topeka rank for history?

Topeka is more historic than 48% 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 Topeka?

32% of Topeka’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.0 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1975.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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 Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (3), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.