The Algansee Township post office opened in 1845, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Algansee (1845), Lester (1879) and Gorton (1889), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 2,033181 years
How historic is Algansee Township?
B+
More historic than 66% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Algansee Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Algansee Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Algansee Township is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Algansee Township’s overall grade.
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 Algansee Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (32% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Algansee Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Algansee Township was created by state legislation on April 2, 1838. It was created from the southern section of Quincy Township and included the land area extending south to the Indiana state line. While the early residents wanted the name of the new township to be named Carlton, it was unexplainably named Alagansee when the township was formally established. The origin of both names is unknown, as the earliest township records have been lost.
Algansee Township assumed its current boundaries on March 25, 1846 when California Township was set off from the southern section of the township.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Algansee Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1960California 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 Algansee Township.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Algansee Township post office opened in 1845, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Algansee Township rank for history?
Algansee Township is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Algansee Township?
23% of Algansee Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
