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History · Urbana

Urbana’s post office opened in 1858, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1961 on.

1858first post office
0on the National Register
41%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Urbana began

When was Urbana founded?

1858

The Urbana post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name.

168 years
Founding year: the first Urbana post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Urbana’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 Urbana are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Urbana’s homes were built before 1952.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Urbana’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Urbana’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Urbana, in brief

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

Urbana is an unincorporated community in Paw Paw Township, Wabash County, in the U.S. state of Indiana.

Its first post office opened in 1858.

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

By decade

Urbana, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Urbana, Indiana2016Urbana, Indiana
On the map

Urbana on the map in 1961

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Urbana.

Urbana on the 1961 USGS map1961North Manchester South 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 Urbana.

Questions about Urbana’s history

What year was Urbana founded?

The Urbana post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1) and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.