Whitestown dates to 1851, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 27% of U.S. towns · #501 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Most of Whitestown was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2014. Its Register listing is the Howard School. Below: maps from 1895 on and the census since 1950.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1853.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Whitestown’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Whitestown is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #501 of 593 in Indiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Whitestown’s overall grade.
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 Whitestown’s 0.8 sits near the middle of its state (46% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1851.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 →
What stands out about Whitestown’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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 year, then a sheet.
1895Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Whitestown was laid out in 1851 when the railroad was extended to that point. There is some difference of opinion on how the town derived its name. It was either named for Albert Smith White, a U.S. Senator from Indiana, or Lemuel White, the first white man that came to the community. The name of the town has at points been noted for being easily perceived as having historical ties to racism in Indiana, despite Albert S. White being known as a leading abolitionist. The first post office in Whitestown was established in 1853.
Passages that mention Whitestown, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Boone County, Indiana1914 · page 157Read the page →
Read the text
The town of Whitestown was laid out in 1857 by Ambrose Neese. It was originally called New Germantown, but afterwards changed to its present name in honor of Hon. A. S. White, ex-congressman and the first president of the I. C. & L. Railway, now Big Four.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Boone County, Indiana1914 · page 119Read the page →
Read the text
youngest, she has measured up to her sister townships in the county and her farm life is as highly developed today as the best of them. The Big Four railroad runs across her center from southeast to northwest, and on this road near the center of the township is the thriving town of Whitestown, the only town in the township. It is the trade center, election center and is surrounded by as rich and as beautiful country as there is in the county.
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
Whitestown, 1851 to 1953
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1851, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Whitestown’s post office opened in 1853, and the census of 1950 counted 550 people here.
How does Whitestown rank for history?
Whitestown is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #501 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 Whitestown?
One place: the Howard School (listed 2009).
How old are the homes in Whitestown?
2% of Whitestown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 2014.
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 (6), 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), 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.
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