The story
Read it all →How Greenland Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Greenland Township.
The community of Greenland began in Section 26 of Greenland Township.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Greenland Township
Greenland Township’s post office opened in 1858, and 40% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1950 on.
1858first post office
0on the National Register
40%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Greenland Township began
When was Greenland Township founded?
1858
The Greenland Township post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name. Five smaller post offices, Adventure (1851), Mass (1899) and Belt (1908), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 628168 years
Founding year: the first Greenland Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Greenland Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost villages5 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Greenland Township, and 6 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Greenland Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Greenland Township’s homes were built before 1947.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Adventure
Greenland
Mass
Belt
Lake Mine
Wainola
Mass City
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
GreenlandLake MineMass CityMcKeeverWainolaWasas
Gone or out of use
Adventure MinemineGreenland StationlocaleIndiana MinemineLake MinemineLake Mine Post Officepost officeMass City StationlocaleNikkila Farms AirportairportWainola Post Officepost officeWainola Stationlocale
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Greenland Township
Maple GroveMaple GroveMethodist
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Greenland Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Greenland Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Greenland Township, 1851 to 1977
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1851Post officeThe Adventure post office opens
- 1858Post officeThe Greenland post office opens
- 1860Post officeThe Adventure post office closes
- 1899Post officeThe Mass post office opens
- 20th century
- 1950
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1977Post officeThe Mass post office closes
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.
Add from your albumOn the map
Greenland Township on the map, 1950 to 1982
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Greenland Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1950Greenland sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Greenland Township.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Greenland Township
Nobody well known was born in Greenland Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Greenland Township’s history
What year was Greenland Township founded?
The Greenland Township post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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.