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C+History
History · Wakarusa

Wakarusa’s post office opened in 1860, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1870.

1860first post office
0on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Wakarusa began

When was Wakarusa founded?

1860

The Wakarusa post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 245 in 18702020 census: 1,998166 years

How historic is Wakarusa?

C+

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Wakarusa post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Wakarusa’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wakarusa is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wakarusa’s overall grade.
Founding era1860, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194024.7% of homes (±7.6) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%A−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical IN town 7.9 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 44%
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 Wakarusa’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (22% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Wakarusa’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 Wakarusa are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Wakarusa’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wakarusa’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Wakarusa came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wakarusa.

Read it all →

In 1836, rural Olive Township was formed in western Elkhart County, and in 1849, as the population grew, a post office named Mt. Olive opened. After more population growth, a new village named Salem was established to prevent people from having to travel to either Goshen or Elkhart to conduct business. Since there is already a town named Salem in Indiana, the name was changed to Wakarusa in 1859. The Mt. Olive Post Office was renamed for Wakarusa a year later.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wakarusa, 1860 to 1961

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860Post officeThe Wakarusa post office opens
  3. 1866Born hereWilliam Grant Seaman is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1961On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Wakarusa, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Town Hall 20-08-12 0092020Town Hall 20-08-12 009Street Clock 20-08-12 0152020Street Clock 20-08-12 015S Elkhart 20-08-12 0392020S Elkhart 20-08-12 039Petunias 20-08-12 0352020Petunias 20-08-12 035Petunias 20-08-12 0112020Petunias 20-08-12 0112020aug-derecho-damage-Wakarusa-Indiana20202020aug-derecho-damage-Wakarusa-IndianaSweet soda drinks, sometimes called "pop" in parts of the United States, normally come in fruit or cola flavors, but at…2016Sweet soda drinks, sometimes called "pop" in parts of…A garishly dressed mannequin fits nicely with the bright wrappers and decorations at the Dime Store, an old-fashioned c…2016A garishly dressed mannequin fits nicely with the bri…President Barack Obama addressing Employees at Monaco RV manufacturing2009President Barack Obama addressing Employees at Monaco…Untitled photo2009Untitled photoObama Wakarusa 20092009Obama Wakarusa 2009Ash road2007Ash road
On the map

Wakarusa on the map, 1961 to 1991

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

Wakarusa on the 1961 USGS mapWakarusa on the 1991 USGS map1961Wakarusa 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 Wakarusa.

Every building

Wakarusa, building by building, 1905–1914

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Wakarusa fire insurance map, 1905, sheet 11905Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Wakarusa, census by census

05001,0001,5002,000188019001920194019601980200020201,998

Grew from 245 people in 1870 to 1,998 in 2020, 8 times over.

15 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Questions about Wakarusa’s history

What year was Wakarusa founded?

The Wakarusa post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Wakarusa rank for history?

Wakarusa is more historic than 44% 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 Wakarusa?

25% of Wakarusa’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.6 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1962.

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 (10), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.