Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: old-book passages.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Independence Township’s history is told.
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikipedia’s history of Independence Township.
Independence Township was erected in May 1856 when the county court ordered the northern portion of Jackson Township to be called Independence Township. On February 25, 1863, Seven sections were ceded to Union Township, Worth County.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Independence Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The second settler in Independence Township was Raphael Dixon who emigrated originally from Tennessee and remained a few years in Andrew County. In 1846 he came to Independence Township and settled on the east side of Honey Creek, at the very edge of the timber, on section 32, township 67, range 33. He took a claim on the open prarie and opened a farm containing half a section of land. He is remembered by the pioneers as a good citizen, of marked social qualities, and very hospitable. His home was a rendezvous for social parties made up of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
a general stock of merchandise. More recently he has erected a new store on the opposite side of the street. The village contains about twenty-five inhabitants. There is a school house half a mile west of town. The first voting precinct of Independence Township was at Horn's school house ; afterward it was changed to Redick's school house,, and now it is at Gaylor City.
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nobody well known was born in Independence Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikimedia Commons (3), 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.
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