Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 98% of U.S. towns · #20 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
6 places in town are on the National Register. Below: maps from 1916 on and old-book passages.
More historic than 98% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wayne Township is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #20 of 593 in Indiana. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
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 Wayne Township’s 136 sits above most of its state (84% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 59 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% 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 Wayne Township’s history is told.
Two other post offices 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).
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Wayne Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Wayne Township.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Wayne Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Wayne Township is one of eleven townships in Randolph County, Indiana. As of the 2020 census, its population was 4,317 (down from 4,611 at 2010) and it contained 2,109 housing units.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 4,611 to 4,317 (-6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Wayne Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The first religious meeting in Wayne Township was probably that of the Friends, at Jericho, and the first school the one in their meeting-house.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The first religious meetiag in Wayne Township was probably that of the Friends, at Jericho, and the first school the one in their meeting-house.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The first religious meeting in Wayne Township was probably that of the Friends, at Jericho, and the first school the one in their meeting-house.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Mr. 'T. owns 203 acres of land in Wayne Township, besides a half interest in 194 acres in Greensfork Township. Ile is a stanch Kepublican, and takes a deep interest. in public affairs, having also served one term as Township Trustee of Wayne Township.
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Nobody well known was born in Wayne Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Wayne Township is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #20 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.
40% of Wayne Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.1 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1951.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
