Its Register listings are the Kent House and Hitchens House and the Warren County Courthouse. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1962 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1829.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Williamsport’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Williamsport is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Williamsport’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 Williamsport’s 16.1 sits above most of its state (66% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.8 points). Two sources give 1828.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Williamsport’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Williamsport was platted by (and named for) William Harrison on December 11, 1828, on the south end of the eastern fractional part of the northeast quarter of section 11, township 21, range 8. Harrison was the first to occupy the town in the fall of 1828; he built a log house at the east end of Main Street near the river and operated a ferry crossing there for several years. Though located on the opposite side of the river from the Wabash and Erie Canal, Williamsport sought to draw shipping traffic by constructing a short cut-off canal. Finished around 1852, the project led to the nickname "Side-Cut City".
In 1828, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Williamsport’s post office opened in 1829, and the census of 1850 counted 279 people here.
How does Williamsport rank for history?
Williamsport is more historic than 86% 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 Williamsport?
Two places: the Kent House and Hitchens House (listed 1984) and the Warren County Courthouse (2008).
How old are the homes in Williamsport?
26% of Williamsport’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (8), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) 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.
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