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A−History
History · Warsaw

Warsaw’s post office opened in 1832, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Warsaw was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 118 buildings. Below: maps from 1943 on and the census since 1860.

1832first post office
3on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Warsaw began

When was Warsaw founded?

1832

The Warsaw post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Fredericksburgh (1816), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 658 in 18602020 census: 1,761194 years

How historic is Warsaw?

A−

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Warsaw post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Warsaw’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Warsaw is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Warsaw’s overall grade.
Founding era1832, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19404.6% of homes (±2.7) · typical KY town 5.9% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register3 listings, 121 historic buildings, 584 per 10,000 residents · typical KY town 29.9 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 76%
NewerOlder

Kentucky towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kentucky town has 29.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Warsaw’s 584 sits above most of its state (92% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 121 historic buildings outnumber those of 90% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 Warsaw’s past

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

A historic districtThe Warsaw Historic District takes in 118 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Warsaw are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1832: 194 years of Warsaw.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

3 listings protect 121 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
121
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Dr. Lucy Dupuy Montz House
Dr. Lucy Dupuy Montz HouseHenry C. Peak HouseWarsaw Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Gothic Revival2
Federal1
Greek Revival1
Italianate1
Vernacular1
Dr. Lucy Dupuy Montz HouseFederal
Henry C. Peak HouseGothic Revival
Warsaw Historic DistrictGreek Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Start Warsaw’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Warsaw, 1815 to 1943

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1815Born hereRichard Yates is born here
  3. 1816Post officeThe Fredericksburgh post office opens
  4. 1832Post officeThe Fredericksburgh post office closes
  5. 1832Post officeThe Warsaw post office opens
  6. 1844Born hereLottie Deno is born here
  7. 1852Born hereEva C. Doughty is born here
  8. 20th century
  9. 1924Born hereJim Blackburn is born here
  10. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Warsaw came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Warsaw.

Read it all →

Warsaw began as a landing on the Ohio River in 1798 called "Great Landing". In 1805, founder Colonel Robert Johnson surveyed and built a road from this landing to his former home in Scott County, Kentucky. The landing soon became a busy shipping port.

In 1814, Colonel Johnson and Henry Yates purchased 200 acres (81 ha) to establish a river town to be named "Fredericksburg", after Johnson's hometown in Virginia. By 1815, the town plot was complete. The town extended from the river to Market Street and included 172 numbered lots, each 28.5 by 99 feet (8.7 by 30.2 m).

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Warsaw, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Warsaw Historic District KY 2024c2024Warsaw Historic District KY 2024cWarsaw Historic District KY 2024b2024Warsaw Historic District KY 2024bWarsaw Historic District KY 2024a2024Warsaw Historic District KY 2024aGallatin County Courthouse 2024d2024Gallatin County Courthouse 2024dGallatin County Courthouse 2024c2024Gallatin County Courthouse 2024cGallatin County Courthouse 2024b2024Gallatin County Courthouse 2024bGallatin County Courthouse 2024a2024Gallatin County Courthouse 2024aWarsaw from Indiana2016Warsaw from IndianaHenry C. Peak House in2013Henry C. Peak House inDr. Lucy Dupuy Montz House2013Dr. Lucy Dupuy Montz HouseGallatin county courthouse2007Gallatin county courthouseKYMap-doton-Warsaw2004KYMap-doton-Warsaw
On the map

Warsaw on the map, 1943 to 1981

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

Warsaw on the 1943 USGS mapWarsaw on the 1951 USGS mapWarsaw on the 1966 USGS mapWarsaw on the 1981 USGS map1943Florence sheet · 1:24,000

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

People over time

Warsaw, census by census

05001,0001,5002,000190019502000Peak: 1,811

Between 658 and 1,811 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Warsaw’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Warsaw

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Richard Yates13th Governor of Illinois, U.S. Senator · b. 1815
Eva C. DoughtyAmerican journalist, suffragist · b. 1852
J
Jim BlackburnMajor League Baseball pitcher · b. 1924
L
Lottie DenoAmerican gambler · b. 1844
L
Lucy MontzDentist · b. 1842
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Warsaw’s post office has been open since 1832. Another post office, Fredericksburgh, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Fredericksburgh
1816–1832
Warsaw
1832–today
18101920today

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

Questions about Warsaw’s history

What year was Warsaw founded?

The Warsaw post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Warsaw rank for history?

Warsaw is more historic than 76% 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 Warsaw?

Three places: the Dr. Lucy Dupuy Montz House (listed 1978), the Henry C. Peak House (1980) and the Warsaw Historic District (1982).

How old are the homes in Warsaw?

5% of Warsaw’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1985.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.