The story
Read it all →How South Bend Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of South Bend Township.
A post office called South Bend was established in 1848 and remained in operation until 1959.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · South Bend Township
South Bend Township’s post office opened in 1848, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1902 on.
1848first post office
0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How South Bend Township began
When was South Bend Township founded?
1848
The South Bend Township post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Southbend (1848), Olivet (1850) and Girty (1877), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,006178 years
Founding year: the first South Bend Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about South Bend 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 South Bend Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s South Bend Township, and 4 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19023 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1973. Watch South Bend Township change.Deep rootsA post office since 1848: 178 years of South Bend Township.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start South Bend Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how South Bend 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 and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Southbend
Olivet
Girty
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
GirtyIdahoOlivetSouth Bend
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside South Bend Township
Montgomery FamilyOlivetRupertSouth Bend
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
South Bend Township on the map, 1902 to 1973
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of South Bend Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1902Elders Ridge 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 South Bend Township.
Timeline
South Bend Township, 1848 to 1959
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1848Post officeThe Southbend post office opens
- 1850Post officeThe Olivet post office opens
- 1877Post officeThe Girty post office opens
- 20th century
- 1902
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1915Post officeThe Olivet post office closes
- 1932Post officeThe Girty post office closes
- 1959Post officeThe Southbend 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 albumFamous people
See all →Famous people close to South Bend Township
Nobody well known was born in South Bend 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 South Bend Township’s history
What year was South Bend Township founded?
The South Bend Township post office opened in 1848, 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.