The story
Read it all →How Washington Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Washington Township.
The Sanitorium Covered Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · Washington Township
23% of Washington Township’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 80% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Beeson Bridge. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1955 on, and the census since 1890.
2on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
Quick answers
About Washington Township’s history
How historic is Washington Township?
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What drives the grade ↓More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Washington Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Washington Township is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Washington Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194023.0% of homes (±8.5) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register2 listings, 11.0 per 10,000 residents · typical IN town 7.9 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 80%
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 Washington Township’s 11.0 sits near the middle of its state (64% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±8.5 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 Washington Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Bethany
Judson
Nyesville
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BethanyCincinnatiJudsonNyesvillePin Hook
Gone or out of use
Adams Covered Bridgebridge
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Washington Township
BarnesBethanyBuchananElderOvermanPoplarRawlings
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Washington Township, 1852 to 1955
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1852Post officeThe Bethany post office opens
- 1872Post officeThe Judson post office opens
- 1872Post officeThe Nyesville post office opens
- 1873Post officeThe Bethany post office closes
- 20th century
- 1902Post officeThe Nyesville post office closes
- 1906
BuiltBeeson Bridge is built - 1941
In the archiveBoys walking fence. Washington, Indiana - 1955
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Washington Township, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1940s10 items
1941Boys walking fence. Washington, Indiana
1941Boys walking fence. Washington, Indiana
1941Farm boys eating ice-cream cones. Washington, Indiana
1941Farm boys eating ice-cream cones. Washington, Indiana
1941Untitled photo, possibly related to: Boys walking fen…
1941Untitled photo, possibly related to: Boys walking fen…
1941John W. Dillard, real estate and insurance man. Washi…
1941Office of John W. Dillard, real estate and insurance …
1941Untitled photo, possibly related to: Farm boys eating…
1941Untitled photo, possibly related to: Farm boys eating…1950s–1990snothing 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 albumOn the map
Washington Township on the map, 1955 to 1978
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Washington Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1955Rockville 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 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.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
2 historic places in Washington Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Beeson Bridge
Structures
Architectural styles listings
Burr Arch1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Washington Township, census by census
Between 904 and 1,682 people in every census since 1890.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Washington Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Washington Township
Nobody well known was born in Washington Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
G
Gordon AllportAmerican psychologist · b. 1897
B
Bill NewtonProfessional basketball player · b. 1950
Help out
Finish Washington 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
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Washington Township’s history
How does Washington Township rank for history?
Washington Township is more historic than 80% 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.
What is on the National Register in Washington Township?
2 listings: 1 structure.
How old are the homes in Washington Township?
23% of Washington Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.5 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1994.
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 the Library of Congress (10), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.