A history of Greenfield,
then and now
Postcards, papers and photographs of Greenfield from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Hancock County was created on March 1, 1828, and named for John Hancock, the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence. The town of Greenfield was chosen as the county seat on April 11, 1828. The Commissioners announced, "The seat of Justice of Hancock County shall be known and designated by the name and title of Greenfield." The population of the county at that time was 400.
Early settlers built along the two creeks which flow south through Center Township, which includes Greenfield. The first businesses were small gristmills for grinding corn and wheat for settlers.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Greenfield’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
4 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewRural Free Delivery Carrier in, 1905: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Greenfield, decade by decade
CommonsDill-Fields Company Inc., Greenfield, Ind., Dill Implement …c. 1930
CommonsLiberty Motel, Greenfield, Indiana (81789)c. 1930
CommonsRoss Motel on U. S. 40 -- 8 miles east of Indianapolis (826…c. 1930
CommonsStatue of James Whitcomb Riley, Greenfield, Indiana (73831)c. 1930
CommonsSwimming pool and playground, James Whitcomb Riley Memorial…c. 1930
CommonsTown and Country Motel, Greenfield, Indiana (81982)c. 19301990s
6 historic places in Greenfield
Greenfield has 6 listings on the National Register, and they protect 602 historic buildings, because Greenfield Residential Historic District alone counts 523.
Where they are
When they were listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Rural Free Delivery Carrier in (1905) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (8), the Library of Congress (3) and the National Register (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.