17% of Washington Township’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 89% of U.S. towns · #155 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
28 places in town are on the National Register, among them 2 National Historic Landmarks and ten historic districts with 1,520 buildings between them. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1952 on, and the census since 1890.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Washington Township is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #155 of 593 in Indiana. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Washington Township’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Washington Township ranks #71 on History.
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 114 sits above most of its state (82% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 1,579 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% 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 (±0.9 points) is firm at this size.
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 Washington Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Ravenswood Post Officepost officeUniversity Park Christian ChurchchurchWadsworth DitchcanalWillard School Number 80school
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Washington Township
Fall Creek UnionOur Lady of PeaceSutherland ParkUnion ChapelWashington Park NorthWashington Park North
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Washington Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Washington Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Washington Township is one of the nine townships of Marion County, Indiana, located in the northern part of the county. The township is entirely within the city of Indianapolis. The population as of the 2020 census was 138,678, up from 132,049 at the 2010 census. The first settlement at Washington Township was made in 1819. On January 1, 2007, the Washington Township Fire Department became the first township fire department in Marion County to consolidate into the Indianapolis Fire Department as part of Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson's proposed Indy Works government cost-savings plan, even though Indy Works, which included merging of Marion County fire departments as part of its cost savi…
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 132,049 to 138,678 (+5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Washington Township in 1904
Passages that mention Washington Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Washington Township, Alameda County, California1904 · page 43Read the page →
Read the text
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.
History of Washington Township, Alameda County, California1904 · page 93Read the page →
Read the text
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.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Washington Township, 1832 to 2003
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Washington Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1952Carmel 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 Washington 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.
Retake this viewBoys walking fence. Washington, Indiana, 1941
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Washington Township’s page.
Washington Township is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #155 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 Washington Township?
28 listings, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks: 14 buildings, among them the Butler Fieldhouse (a National Historic Landmark since 1987) and the Michigan Road Toll House (listed 1974, the first), 11 historic districts with 1,520 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 1,579 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Washington Township?
17% of Washington Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1966.
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 (2), the Library of Congress (10), the National Register of Historic Places (26), 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 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.
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