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CHistory
History · Acme Township

Acme Township dates to 1864, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 31% of U.S. towns · #567 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Most of Acme Township was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Its Register listing is the John Pulcipher House. Below: maps from 1957 on.

1864founded
1on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Acme Township began

When was Acme Township founded?

1864

Acme Township dates its founding to 1864 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1857.

2020 census: 4,456162 years

How historic is Acme Township?

C

More historic than 31% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1857.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Acme Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Acme Township is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #567 of 701 in Michigan. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Acme Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1864, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.5% of homes (±1.6) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 2.2 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 31%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 19%

Few Michigan towns list much on the Register (a typical Michigan town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Acme Township’s 2.2 sits above most of its state (70% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1864.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Acme Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Acme Township, and 4 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Acme Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Whitewater
1857–1869
Yuba
1865–1904
Acme
1869–1933
Bates
1891–1933
Acme
1952–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AcmeBatesFivemile CornerYuba
Gone or out of use
Acme SkyportairportBates Post Officepost officeYuba Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Acme Township
Acme TownshipYuba Acme Township

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Acme Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Acme Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Acme Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Acme Township.

Read it all →

Acme was established by L S. Hoxie from Saratoga County, New York, who, after arriving here in 1864, purchased land and platted the settlement. Alburtus T. Hoxie, son of L.S., became the first postmaster of Acme in 1869. The post office had opened as "Whitewater" on July 16, 1857, but was renamed on June 10, 1869. Acme takes its name from a Greek word, acme, meaning "summit".

In 1892, an extension of the Chicago and West Michigan Railway from Traverse City to Petoskey was built through Acme.

Acme's post office closed on February 15, 1933. However, it was reestablished on February 1, 1952.

In 1986, the tallest building in Grand Traverse County, the tower at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa, opened in Acme.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Acme Township, 1857 to 1957

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857Post officeThe Whitewater post office opens
  3. 1864
    FoundingAcme Township is established
  4. 1865Post officeThe Yuba post office opens
  5. 1869Post officeThe Whitewater post office closes
  6. 1869Post officeThe Acme post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1904Post officeThe Yuba post office closes
  9. 1933Post officeThe Acme post office closes
  10. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Acme Township, decade by decade

Today1 recent
In Acme, MI to talk about the 2013 Farm Bill2013In Acme, MI to talk about the 2013 Farm Bill
On the map

Acme Township on the map, 1957 to 1983

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Acme Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Acme Township on the 1957 USGS mapAcme Township on the 1983 USGS map1957Elk Rapids sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Acme Township.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Acme Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2000
John Pulcipher House
John Pulcipher House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian1
Eastlake1
John Pulcipher HouseLate Victorian

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Whitewater TownshipIts storyC−East Bay TownshipIts storyC−

Questions about Acme Township’s history

What year was Acme Township founded?

In 1864, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Acme Township’s post office opened in 1857.

How does Acme Township rank for history?

Acme Township is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #567 of 701 in Michigan. 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 Acme Township?

One place: the John Pulcipher House (listed 2000).

How old are the homes in Acme Township?

2% of Acme Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1985.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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).

From Wikimedia Commons (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.