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–Not graded
History · Harlan Township

Harlan Township’s post office opened in 1877, and 65% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1893 on.

1877first post office
0on the National Register
65%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Harlan Township began

When was Harlan Township founded?

1877

The Harlan Township post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Thompson (1873), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 70149 years
Founding year: the first Harlan Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Harlan Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Harlan Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18933 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1985. Watch Harlan Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Harlan Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Harlan Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Harlan Township on the map, 1893 to 1985

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Harlan Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Harlan Township on the 1893 USGS mapHarlan Township on the 1961 USGS mapHarlan Township on the 1985 USGS map1893Smith Center sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Harlan Township.

The story

How Harlan Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Harlan Township.

Read it all →

A post office was opened in Harlan in the 1870s, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1995.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Harlan Township, 1873 to 1893

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Thompson post office opens
  3. 1877Post officeThe Thompson post office closes
  4. 1877Post officeThe Harlan post office opens
  5. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Another post office, Thompson, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Thompson
1873–1877
Harlan
1877–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Harlan
1cemetery inside Harlan Township
Hammond

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Garfield TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHouston TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBanner TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLawrence TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Harlan Township’s history

What year was Harlan Township founded?

The Harlan Township post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.