Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns · #317 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: maps from 1959 on and old-book passages.
More historic than 64% 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 64% of U.S. towns, #317 of 593 in Indiana. 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 Wayne Township’s 2.2 sits near the middle of its state (48% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Wayne Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 4,541 in 2010, 4,609 in 2020.
Passages that mention Wayne Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
North Judson North Judson, laid out in 1866, is located in Wayne Township and has at this time about sixteen hundred inhabitants. It has an incorporated area of 2,000 acres. It has four railroads running through it — the Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, the Chicago & Erie Railroad, the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, and the Chicago, Indiana & Southern Railroad, two of which are double tracked, and arrangements are being made to double track the other two roads. This makes North
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
"Wayne Township of Starke County, April 24, 1852, and is one of the older native sons of this county. He was reared and educated in that community, and after reaching manhood moved to California Township, and served as the first freight and passenger agent for the Erie Railway at Aldine. In 1893, during Cleveland's second administration, he was appointed postmaster at Aldine, held the office continuously for ten years, and has since been reappointed. In 1898 Mr. Welsh was elected township trustee, and the administration of the public schools and of
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.
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.
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.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Wayne Township is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #317 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.
18% of Wayne Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1967.
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 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.
