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A+History
History · Vincennes Township

Vincennes Township dates to 1732, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns · #17 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it

13 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 1 buildings. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1915 on, and the census since 1850.

1732founded
13on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Vincennes Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Vincennes Township began

When was Vincennes Township founded?

1732

Vincennes Township dates its founding to 1732 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 2,070 in 18502020 census: 21,899294 years

How historic is Vincennes Township?

A+

Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1799.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Vincennes Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Vincennes Township is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #17 of 593 in Indiana. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Vincennes Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1732, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194025.2% of homes (±3.1) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register13 listings, 1,164 historic buildings, 537 per 10,000 residents · typical IN town 7.9 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Among the top 1%
NewerOlder
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 97%

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 Vincennes Township’s 537 sits above most of its state (96% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 1,164 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 points). Two sources give 1732.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Vincennes Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Landmarks on the Register13 places on the National Register.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Vincennes Township, and 4 old place names are still on the map.Older than the countryEstablished in 1732, 44 years before the Declaration of Independence.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1808–1995.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

13 listings protect 1,164 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
13
National Historic Landmark
1
none yet
historic buildings protected
1,164
each building in a district counts
first listed
2013
Kimmell Park
Kimmell ParkMont ClairKnox County Poor Asylum
BuildingsDistricts
Kimmell ParkDistrict
All 3 listings
Mont ClairBuilding · listed 2016Knox County Poor AsylumBuilding · listed 2018

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
BandmillBealBloods Wood CrossingTwin Bridges
Gone or out of use
Klein AirportairportKnox County Pitmine
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Vincennes Township
BealHighland

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

Timeline

Vincennes Township, 1732 to 1995

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1732
    FoundingVincennes Township is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1808In the archiveLetter signed Jesse B. Thomas, Vincennes, to Thomas Jefferson, October 19, 1808
  5. 1820In the archive18200610 Ball and Ten Pin Alley - Indiana Centinel
  6. 1891Post officeThe Beall post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1901Post officeThe Beall post office closes
  9. 1913In the archiveSamuel Williams
  10. 1915On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1923In the archiveFall of Fort Sackville
  12. 1982In the archiveGlenn's barber pole, 2nd Street
  13. 1995In the archiveIndiana's Historic Pathways - Vincennes' Old State Bank
The story

How Vincennes Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Vincennes Township.

Read it all →

The vicinity of Vincennes was inhabited for thousands of years by different cultures of indigenous peoples. During the Late Woodland period, some of these peoples used local loess hills as burial sites; some of the more prominent examples are the Sugar Loaf Mound and the Pyramid Mound. In historic times, prominent local Indian groups who drove these people out were the Shawnee, Wabash, and the Miami tribe.

ChaptersNew FranceBritish AmericaRevolutionary WarPost-Revolution turmoilThe Vincennes TractGrowthSlaveryTime zone controversy

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Vincennes Township, decade by decade

6 decades in the archive, from the 1800s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1800s–1820s4 items
Letter signed Jesse B. Thomas, Vincennes, to Thomas Jefferson, October 19, 18081808Letter signed Jesse B. Thomas, Vincennes, to Thomas J…Document18200610 Ball and Ten Pin Alley - Indiana Centinel182018200610 Ball and Ten Pin Alley - Indiana CentinelDocumentTo the officers and soldiers composing the first regint. of Indiana Militia1821To the officers and soldiers composing the first regi…DocumentMary, a woman of color v. General W. Johnston, 1821, Knox County, Indiana Circuit Court1821Mary, a woman of color v. General W. Johnston, 1821, …Document
1910s5 items
Samuel Williams1913Samuel WilliamsIndiana1917IndianaIndiana1917IndianaIndiana1917IndianaIndiana1917Indiana
1920s1 item
Fall of Fort Sackville1923Fall of Fort Sackville
1930s–1970snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1980s–1990s2 items
Glenn's barber pole, 2nd Street1982Glenn's barber pole, 2nd StreetIndiana's Historic Pathways - Vincennes' Old State Bank1995Indiana's Historic Pathways - Vincennes' Old State Ba…
Today1 recent
Fr. Vigo statue by John Angelc. 2004Fr. Vigo statue by John Angel
On the map

Vincennes Township on the map, 1915 to 1980

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

Vincennes Township on the 1915 USGS mapVincennes Township on the 1944 USGS mapVincennes Township on the 1980 USGS map1915Vincennes sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Vincennes 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.

Samuel Williams
Retake this viewSamuel Williams, 1913

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Vincennes Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Vincennes Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,0001850190019502000Peak: 20,857

Between 2,070 and 20,857 people in every census since 1850.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Vincennes Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewSamuel Williams: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Decker TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJohnson TownshipIts storyBPalmyra Township1 historic placeA−Washington Township1 historic placeA

Questions about Vincennes Township’s history

What year was Vincennes Township founded?

In 1732, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Vincennes Township’s post office opened in 1799, and the census of 1850 counted 2,070 people here.

How does Vincennes Township rank for history?

Vincennes Township is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #17 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.

What is on the National Register in Vincennes Township?

13 listings: 2 buildings and 1 historic district, the Kimmell Park, with 1 contributing buildings. 1,164 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Vincennes Township?

25% of Vincennes Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1964.

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 (13), Wikidata (5), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.