The story
Read it all →How Vigo Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Vigo Township.
Vigo Township was established in 1837. It was named for Col. François Vigo.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
AHistory
History · Vigo Township
58% of Vigo Township’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 87% of U.S. towns · #170 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: maps from 1943 on and the census since 1890.
1on the National Register
58%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
Where Vigo Township’s name came from
How did Vigo Township get its name?
Vigo Township was named for Col. François Vigo.
How historic is Vigo Township?
A
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 87% 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 Vigo Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Vigo Township is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #170 of 593 in Indiana. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Vigo Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194057.6% of homes (±6.5) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register1 listing, 2.5 per 10,000 residents · typical IN town 7.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 87%
NewerOlder
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 71%
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 Vigo Township’s 2.5 sits near the middle of its state (49% 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 (±6.5 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 Vigo 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 Vigo Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Vigo Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Vigo Township, census by census
Peaked at 10,385 in 1920; 4,083 people lived here in 2020.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Vigo Township’s Wikipedia page.
Timeline
Vigo Township, 1881 to 1943
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1881Post officeThe Westphalia post office opens
- 20th century
- 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 10,385
- 1943
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.
Add from your albumOn the map
Vigo Township on the map, 1943 to 1980
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Vigo Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1943Plainville sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Vigo Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Vigo 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.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Vigo Township
Nobody well known was born in Vigo Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Wagner StationWestphalia
Gone or out of use
N'Meier Airportairport
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Vigo Township
BegemanBicknell MemorialDelayMcClureOdd FellowsSandborn
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.
Steele TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townElmore TownshipIts storyBWashington Township10 historic placesAWashington Township1 historic placeAWidner Township1 historic placeA−Stafford TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWashington TownshipIts storyC+Steen Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about Vigo Township’s history
How does Vigo Township rank for history?
Vigo Township is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #170 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.
How old are the homes in Vigo Township?
58% of Vigo Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 Wikipedia, 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.