Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 19% of U.S. towns · #539 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Most of Whiteland was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: maps from 1916 on and the census since 1880.
The Whiteland post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 19% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Whiteland is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #539 of 593 in Indiana. Its age 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 Whiteland’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: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). 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 Whiteland’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Whiteland.
Whiteland was platted in 1863 by Joel B. White and others. The first school in the town was built in 1869, which was the only school in Whiteland until 1957, when a high school was built.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Whiteland, cut from the printed page as they were published.
her corps of medical men from the earliest days in her history to the present time, and on the roll of honored names that indicates the services of distinguished citizens in this field of endeavor there is reason in reverting with gratification to that of Dr. Rufus Webster Terhune, of Whiteland, who has attained eminence in his chosen calling and for a number of years has stood among the scholarly and enterprising physicians in a community long distinguished for the high order of iti medical talent, ile realized early that there is a purpose in life and that there is no honor not founded on worth and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
public and civic life of his community Doctor Terhune has long been a prominent and intlucntial figure. He served as town clerk and treasurer of Whiteland for tlie year 1897. In 189S he was elected coroner of Johnson county, and was thrice elected, making a total of eight years in which he served in this responsible position. He was again elected town clerk and treasurer of Whiteland for the years 1910 and 1911. Since the expiration of his term as clerk and treasurer he has served as president of the board of trustees of Whiteland and has been instrumental in building cement side-
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Whiteland. 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 Whiteland.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.
1916Sheet 1 of 3Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Grew from 230 people in 1880 to 4,599 in 2020, more than tenfold.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Whiteland’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Whiteland’s post office has been open since 1861.
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.
The Whiteland post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Whiteland is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #539 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.
4% of Whiteland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1992.
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, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
