Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 44% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: old-book passages.
Washington Township was named for George Washington, first President of the United States.
More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Washington Township 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.
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 Washington Township’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Washington Township’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Washington Township.
Washington Township was organized in 1842. It was named for George Washington, first President of the United States.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Washington Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The Suburban Electric Light Co. was incorporated June 14, 1901, with a capital of $500,000. It distributes light and power throughout Alameda County, including as a matter of course all the towns and homes in Washington Township. This Company secures its power from the Standard Electric Company and from the Bay Counties Company.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
D. D. Henion, who is a comparatively late comer to Warm Springs, is, however, an old pioneer of Washington Township. He arrived in the valley in the fall of 1850, and located on the Chadbourne place between Centreville and Irvington. In 1853 he moved to Niles, where he lived first on the Clough place and later on the H. G. Ellsworth place until April 4, 1873, when he moved to Warm Springs.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Soon after first settlements were made in Washington Township, itinerans of the Methodist denomination visited the country, "delivering the messages of peace and good will to audiences consisting of a few of the scattered settlers, brought together by the patient searching out and earnest solicitation of the messengers themselves." As early as 1853-54 the few Methodist families living in the central and southern parts of the township began meeting for public worship at private dwellings, and about the year 1855 a class of fifteen members
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nobody well known was born in Washington Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Another post office, Anoka, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Washington Township 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.
20% of Washington Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.4 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1970.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
