Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1833.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Michigan Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Michigan Township is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #64 of 593 in Indiana. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Michigan Township’s overall grade.
Indiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Indiana town has 7.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Michigan Township’s 192 sits above most of its state (87% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 524 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1830.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Michigan Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Michigan City's origins date to 1830, when the land for the city was first purchased by Isaac C. Elston, a real estate speculator who had made his fortune in Crawfordsville, Indiana. He paid about $200 total for 160 acres (65 ha) of land. The now-closed Elston Middle School, formerly Elston High School, was named after the founder.
The city was incorporated in 1836, by which point it had 1,500 residents, along with a post office, a newspaper, a church, a commercial district and ten hotels. In these six years the town had grown to a size of 15 square miles (39 km2). That same year, the State Bank of Indiana opened a branch in town.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Michigan Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1958Michigan City East sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Michigan Township.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewMisc - Michigan City, 1855
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Michigan Township’s page.
In 1830, according to Wikidata. Michigan Township’s post office opened in 1833, and the census of 1850 counted 999 people here.
How does Michigan Township rank for history?
Michigan Township is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #64 of 593 in Indiana. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Michigan Township?
17 listings: 4 buildings and 2 structures. 524 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Michigan Township?
29% of Michigan Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1957.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (15), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
1849
1855
1869
1869
1869
1900
1900
1900
c. 1913
1915
1922
1973
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1973
