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History · Van Buren Township

42% of Van Buren Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1962 on and the census since 1890.

0on the National Register
42%homes built before 1940
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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.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Van Buren Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,456 in 1900; 854 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Van Buren Township’s homes were built before 1950.
★ 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.
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People over time

Van Buren Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,456

Peaked at 1,456 in 1900; 854 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story so far

Van Buren Township, in brief

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

Van Buren Township is one of twelve townships in Pulaski County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 854 and it contained 375 housing units. Van Buren Township was organized in 1842, and named for Martin Van Buren (1782–1862), eighth President of the United States (1837–1841).

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 911 to 854 (-6%).

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

Timeline

Van Buren Township, 1856 to 1966

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe Oak post office opens
  3. 1862Post officeThe Star City post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 1,456
  6. 1962On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1966Post officeThe Oak post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Van Buren Township on the map, 1962 to 1985

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

Van Buren Township on the 1962 USGS mapVan Buren Township on the 1985 USGS map1962Star City 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 Van Buren Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Van Buren Township

Nobody well known was born in Van Buren Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Anita AllenAmerican pentathlete · b. 1977
Justin HaleyAmerican racing driver · b. 1999
D
Don HendricksonMajor League Baseball pitcher · b. 1913
Hal IrelanAmerican baseball player · b. 1890
J
John BuchananProfessor of biochemistry at the Massachusetts … · b. 1917
R
Russell Barr WilliamsonAmerican architect · b. 1893
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Another post office, Oak, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Oak
1856–1966
Star City
1862–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Star CityThornhope
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Van Buren Township
BuckMullStar City WestVictor Chapel

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Boone TownshipIts storyB+Harrison TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townIndian Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWayne TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Van Buren Township’s history

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 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.