The story
Read it all →How Henryville Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Henryville Township.
Henryville Township was organized in 1871, and named for Peter Henry, an early settler.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Henryville Township
Henryville Township’s post office opened in 1879, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1952 on.
1879first post office
0on the National Register
41%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Henryville Township began
When was Henryville Township founded?
1879
The Henryville Township post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Henryville (1879) and Bechyn (1888), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 177147 years
Founding year: the first Henryville Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Henryville 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 Henryville Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Henryville Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Henryville Township’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Henryville Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Henryville Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Henryville
Bechyn
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bechyn
Gone or out of use
Bechyn Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Henryville Township
Saint Mary's Bechyn
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Henryville Township, 1879 to 1952
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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
Henryville Township on the map, 1952 to 1983
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Henryville Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1952Redwood Falls 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 Henryville Township.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Beaver Falls TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTroy TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNorfolk TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFlora TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about Henryville Township’s history
What year was Henryville Township founded?
The Henryville Township post office opened in 1879, 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.