The story
Read it all →How Van Buren Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Van Buren Township.
Van Buren Township was organized in 1837. It was named for President Martin Van Buren.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
AHistory
History · Van Buren Township
44% of Van Buren Township’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 88% of U.S. towns. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1986 on.
1on the National Register
44%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Quick answers
Where Van Buren Township’s name came from
How did Van Buren Township get its name?
Van Buren Township was named for President Martin Van Buren.
How historic is Van Buren Township?
A
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 88% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Van Buren Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Van Buren Township is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Van Buren Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194044.2% of homes (±11.2) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register1 listing, 5.8 per 10,000 residents · typical IN town 7.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 88%
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 Van Buren Township’s 5.8 sits near the middle of its state (56% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.2 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Van Buren Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Van Buren Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Van Buren Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.By decade
Van Buren Township, decade by decade
Date unknown1 to date
Date?On the map
Van Buren Township on the map in 1986
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Van Buren Township.
1986Muncie sheet · 1:100,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Van Buren 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 viewVan Buren Public Library, 115 South First Street
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Van Buren Township’s page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
1 historic place in Van Buren Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Van Buren Township’s history
How does Van Buren Township rank for history?
Van Buren Township is more historic than 88% 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 Van Buren Township?
44% of Van Buren Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.2 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1947.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.