Greensburg, Indiana

10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Washington Township. It lies in ZIP code area 47240. The Survey maps it on the Greensburg quadrangle. 12,312 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 958 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Greensburg within Decatur County

On record in Greensburg

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 8 records

Bromwell Wire Workslisted 1990
Decatur County Courthouselisted 1973
Greensburg Carnegie Public Librarylisted 1995
Greensburg Downtown Historic Districtlisted 1995
Bright B. Harris Houselisted 2000
Jerman Schoollisted 2005
Knights of Pythias Building and Theatrelisted 1978
Strauther Pleak Round Barnlisted 1993

Population over time

3 figures

Greensburg grew from 1,202 to 12,312 between 1850 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

Year	People	Change
1850	1,202
2010	11,492
2020	12,312	+820 (+7%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 10 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

1953 USGS Cincinnati quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
1957 USGS Cincinnati quadrangle1:250000
1958 USGS Greensburg quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
1986 USGS Greensburg quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings

In the county-history sources

3,328 words on this township

History of Decatur County, Indiana : Its People, Industries and Institutions, published 1915 names this settlement in its chapter on Washington Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

This township is located in almost the exact center of the county and contains fifty-four square miles of territory. According to the census report of 1910, the entire population of the township, exclusive of the city of Greensburg, was one thousand four hundred and eight. The entire township is underlaid with a bed of limestone, which has proved of utmost value in the construction of highways.

Passage source: History of Decatur County, Indiana : Its People, Industries and Institutions, published 1915.

Talbott was an unusnally talented representative of a type that made its presence felt in each new community in the days of county organization. They were the seekers after office, and early records of Indiana counties show that it was a very common custom for politicians failing to land jobs, in one county when it was organized, to quit the county and try their luck again in the next one organized. Talbott, however, had not }et attained his majority when he came to Washington township. Talbott and Robert Murphy, who came with him, boarded at the Hendricks house. Talbott brought some goods with him and started a store, which may have been the first one in the township, although this distinction is also claimed for a man named Riley. The ne.xt newcomer was David Gageby, who had resided at Vernon. He started a cabinet shop on the northwest corner of the public square. He was later joined by his brother James. David then turned his attention exclusively to carpenter work, leaving the management of the shop to his brother. Other early settlers were Martin and John Jamison, hatters. In 1 82 1, William Lloyd settled on what is now called the Madison road, about two miles south of Greensburg. He brought with him from Jefferson count}', where he had stopped a few months, a number of hogs and cattle. Rattlesnakes killed off a good many of the cattle and a good share of the hogs wandered away into the woods and were lost.

Passage source: History of Decatur County, Indiana : Its People, Industries and Institutions, published 1915.

Thomas Perry emigrated from Bath county, Kentucky, to Washington township in 1823 and settled four miles east of Greensburg. Samuel and John McConnell, two other Kentuckians, also came about the same time. Both were powerful and muscular and possessed great physical courage. It is related that, while living "on the dark and bloody ground," John McConnell was once beset by two Indians. He whipped them both and took away from one a very business-like war club, which he preserved as a trophv of the encounter.

Passage source: History of Decatur County, Indiana : Its People, Industries and Institutions, published 1915.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Washington Township - it names this place 1 more 1 time.

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Greensburg: 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where	Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
	Harris City Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer

Every working recorded in Decatur County

Storms near this place

60 of 76 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Greensburg in 76 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 33 thunderstorm wind, 27 hail, 6 lightning, 4 flash flood. The reports record 1 death. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
May 1996	Lightning	Greensburg	1 killed	no account filed
April 1996	Tornado (F1)	Greensburg	$1,200,000	no account filed
August 2018	Hail	Greensburg	$150,000	The emergency manager reported many instances of hail damage to homes, cars, a school bus, and roofs, including both the elementary and high schools.
July 2000	Lightning	Greensburg	$100,000	Lightning damaged a business in Greensburg.
April 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	$100,000	no account filed
June 1998	Lightning	Greensburg	$65,000	A barn, house, and nursing home were struck by lightning causing fire to each structure. In one case, a truck and boat in the barn was destroyed by the fire.
February 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	$50,000	Trailers were blown over, a house under construction collapsed, large trees were uprooted, and utility poles were snapped due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
June 2008	Flash Flood	Greensburg	$50,000	State Road 46 at United States 421 and State Road 3 in Greensburg were closed due to flash flooding. Gas and Sand Creek flooded. Cars were stuck in flood waters. Numerous county roads and bridges were washed away.
April 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	$45,000	Approximately two dozen homes received minor roof damage from shingle loss or fallen trees due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts within a bow echo. Trees were also reported down on some cars and blocking roads. The damage occurred between State Route 46 and Interstate 74, north of downtown.
May 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	$40,000	A barn and home was damaged in Greensburg due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts.
May 1996	Tornado (F0)	Greensburg	$40,000	no account filed
May 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	$25,000	Trees fell throughout the city, including one that fell on a car, and another that fell on a home.
November 2004	Tornado (F0)	Greensburg	$25,000	A small and short lived tornado touched down four miles northwest of Greensburg, crossing Interstate 74 near exit 132. Trees were downed, a barn roof was torn off, and cars were blown off the road. Damage amount is estimated.
May 2002	Flash Flood	Greensburg	$25,000	no account filed
September 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	$20,000	Thunderstorm downburst winds blew down trees and power lines in central Decatur County.
June 2018	Flood	Greensburg	$20,000	There was flooding reported to be in or around a structure due to heavy rainfall in west Greensburg. The exact location is unknown.
September 2016	Flash Flood	Greensburg	$20,000	Interstate 74 was shut down between mile markers 134 and 143 due to high water from heavy thunderstorm rainfall.\|\|Also, an Indianapolis woman drowned inside a vehicle late Thursday after it struck a semi on a flooded portion of Interstate 74 and overturned into a water-filled ditch, trapping her inside, county law enforcement officials said.\|\|The accident occurred at approximately 11:53 p.m. Thursday. At that time, a Cloverdale man, 62, was traveling east on Interstate 74, near the 143 mile marker. Heavy rains led to high water on the roadway, which are believed to have caused the man to lose control of the vehicle and slide. As it slid, the vehicle was hit by a 2000 Freightliner semi and sent into a roadside ditch. The SUV came to rest upside-down and was partially submerged. More than four feet of water had collected in the ditch by the time the accident had occurred, Decatur County Sheriff said.\|\|The deceased woman, 58, a passenger in the SUV, was pronounced dead at the scene. The man escaped the vehicle unharmed and he and emergency responders attempted to free the woman from the vehicle, but all were unable to pull her from the submerged car. Attempts to resuscitate the woman after she was extricated were unsuccessful.\|\|Westbound lanes in the vicinity of the accident were shut down for approximately two hours, sheriffs department personnel said.
May 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	$12,000	A semi trailer was blown over due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts.
April 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	$10,000	Tree snapped by thunderstorm wind gusts onto a garage.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	$10,000	Tree downed on a house due to thunderstorm wind gusts.
May 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	$10,000	A semi truck was blown over at State Route 3 and Interstate 74.
April 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	$10,000	A semi was blown over by high winds.
July 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	$10,000	no account filed
July 1996	Lightning	Greensburg	$10,000	no account filed
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	$8,000	Trees and power lines were reported down in this location due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	$5,000	Trees and powerlines downed by thunderstorm wind gusts.
June 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	$5,000	Trees were reported to be down across a road due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts.
August 2004	Lightning	Greensburg	$5,000	Lightning struck the communications tower at the Decatur County Sheriff's Department, damaging the fire repeater and radio console.
June 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	$5,000	Utility poles were blown down.
May 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	$5,000	no account filed
July 1996	Lightning	Greensburg	$4,000	no account filed
May 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	$3,000	Good sized, large tree limbs were downed across town due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts.
July 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	$3,000	Trees blown down. Windows in apartments blown out.
June 2019	Flash Flood	Greensburg	$2,000	Flooding on Interstate 74 between mile markers 136 and 137 due to thunderstorm heavy rainfall.
February 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	$1,500	A flag pole was downed on a vehicle in this location due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts.
July 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	$1,000	More trees downed by another storm.
June 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	$1,000	Trees downed.
June 2018	Flood	Greensburg	$250	Anderson Street was reported to be flooded and impassable due to heavy rainfall. This report was received via Twitter.
December 2018	Flood	Greensburg	$250	Standing water was reported in the right lane of Interstate 74 near mile marker 137 due to heavy rainfall. One and a half to two inches of rain was reported to have fallen in Decatur County.
August 2018	Hail	Greensburg	-	This location is an approximate based on the caller stating the hail occurred on the east side of Greensburg.
February 2017	Hail	Greensburg	-	Dime to penny size hail was reported to be covering the ground in Greensburg.
April 2016	Hail	Greensburg	-	This was reported via Twitter from CBS4Indy.
May 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	-	Golf ball sized hail was also noted in this location.
May 2011	Hail	Greensburg	-	Golf ball sized hail was observed on West Washington Street.
July 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	-	Trees were blown down by thunderstorm winds.
July 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Greensburg	-	Thunderstorm winds tore down a large tree branch, blew down a white Oak tree that was estimated to be 300 years old, and fell another tree onto a roadway near the intersection of Wilder and Washington Streets.
May 2024	Hail	Greensburg	-	no account filed
August 2018	Hail	Greensburg	-	no account filed
August 2018	Hail	Greensburg	-	no account filed
April 2017	Hail	Greensburg	-	no account filed
April 2016	Hail	Greensburg	-	no account filed
May 2014	Hail	Greensburg	-	no account filed
May 2014	Hail	Greensburg	-	no account filed
May 2011	Hail	Greensburg	-	no account filed
May 2011	Hail	Greensburg	-	no account filed
April 2010	Hail	Greensburg	-	no account filed
June 2009	Hail	Greensburg	-	no account filed
June 2008	Hail	Greensburg	-	no account filed
March 2006	Hail	Greensburg	-	no account filed
April 2006	Hail	Greensburg	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Decatur County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Craig	1.9 miles	11
Knarr Corner	3.7 miles	10
McCoy	3.8 miles	10
Harris City	4.5 miles	11
Ewington	4.5 miles	11
Adams	5.1 miles	10
Tarkeo Corner	5.1 miles	10
Middle Branch	5.6 miles	10

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Greensburg	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2018766	The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 449663. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.