More historic than 35% of U.S. towns · #454 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
Most of Winfield was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2005. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1953 on, and the census since 1990.
The Winfield post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1993. Another post office, Bibler (1883), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 637 in 19902020 census: 7,181178 years
How historic is Winfield?
C
More historic than 35% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Winfield post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1993.
History grade
What drives Winfield’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Winfield is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #454 of 593 in Indiana. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Winfield’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 Winfield’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.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1993.
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 →
What stands out about Winfield’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Winfield yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Winfield ( WIN-feeld) is a town in Winfield Township, Lake County, Indiana. As of the 2020 census, Winfield had a population of 7,181. The town was incorporated in 1993 in order to keep the residents from being annexed by other neighboring communities. Prior to that time it had been part of Winfield Township as an unincorporated town. Winfield is named for General Winfield Scott. The town is served by the Crown Point post office and addresses in Winfield share the Crown Point ZIP code. In 2014 Winfield formed a Marshal department for public safety and law enforcement duties, prior to that time police protection services were provided by the Lake County Sheriff's Department. Notable people f…
Its first post office opened in 1848. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 4,383 to 7,181 (+64%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Winfield, 1877–1915
Passages that mention Winfield, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The past and present of Lake County, Illinois, containing a history of the county ... a biographical directory ... war record ... early settlers ... statistics ... history of Illinois ... the Northwest ... etc., etc ..1877 · page 477Read the page →
Read the text
Winfield, Thomas, e. Aug 9, 1862, died. Sept. 2. 1863. Wells, Tims. K., e. Aug. 9. 1862, nlweiit, sick, at m. o. of regt.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A standard history of Lake County, Indiana, and the Calumet region1915 · page 162Read the page →
Read the text
John and Ross. The steps by which it acquired its present form and area were the detachment of Winfield in 1843, the creation of St. John and Ross in 1848, and the separation of Hanover from what was left of Center, in 1853.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A standard history of Lake County, Indiana, and the Calumet region1915 · page 201Read the page →
Read the text
Leroy, however, is the oldest town in Winfield Township and the most prosperous. It is a product of the old Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, now the Pennsylvania line, but still popularly called the Panhandle. The road has also gone by the name of the Cincinnati Air Line, and in 1865, when it was completed through Lake County, Leroy was made a shipping station. Year by year it has gi'own in importance as a shipping center for hay and grain, especially the former. It has several good stores, a large brick schoolhouse and Methodist and United
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.
The Winfield post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1993.
How does Winfield rank for history?
Winfield is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #454 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.
How old are the homes in Winfield?
3% of Winfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 2005.
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 (2), 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 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.
Date?
2012
