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C+History
History · Allendale Township

Allendale Township dates to 1849

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns · #489 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Most of Allendale Township was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. Below: maps from 1958 on.

1849founded
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Gpwitteveen · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Allendale Township began

When was Allendale Township founded?

1849

Allendale Township dates its founding to 1849 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1852.

2020 census: 26,582177 years

How historic is Allendale Township?

C+

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1852.
History grade

What drives Allendale Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Allendale Township is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #489 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Allendale Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1849, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19403.5% of homes (±1.6) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MI town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 38%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 30%

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 Allendale 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 C− to B−. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1849.

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 Allendale 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 Allendale Township, and 6 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Allendale Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1849: 177 years of Allendale Township.
★ 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.

Allendale
1852–1919
Bassriver
1882–1910
Pearline
1891–1908
Rusk
1892–1907
Allendale
1954–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AllendaleAllendale Meadows Mobile ParkChateau Deerfield Manor Mobile Home ParkKnollwood Estates Mobile Home ParkPearlineRusk
Gone or out of use
Bassriver Post Officepost officePearline Post Officepost officeRusk Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Allendale Township
Allendale TownshipRusk

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

Help out

Start Allendale Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Allendale 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
Timeline

Allendale Township, 1849 to 1958

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1849
    FoundingAllendale Township is established
  3. 1852Post officeThe Allendale post office opens
  4. 1882Post officeThe Bassriver post office opens
  5. 1891Post officeThe Pearline post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1908Post officeThe Pearline post office closes
  8. 1910Post officeThe Bassriver post office closes
  9. 1919Post officeThe Allendale post office closes
  10. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story so far

Allendale Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Allendale Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Allendale is a census-designated place (CDP) in Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 27,073 at the 2020 census. It is located within Allendale Charter Township, occupying approximately the northern two-thirds of the township, from the eastern boundary with the Grand River west along Pierce St., north along 75th Ave., then west along Lake Michigan Drive (M-45) to the western boundary of the township. It is a part of the Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, Michigan combined statistical area, and is an exurb of Grand Rapids, due to its major commuter routes into the city (M-45 and I-96). The CDP's ZIP code 49401 serves most of the township, as well as portions of Blendon.…

Allendale Township was established in 1849. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 20,708 to 26,582 (+28%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Allendale Township, decade by decade

Today11 recent
Veterans Garden of Honor2025Veterans Garden of HonorSide of Allendale Township Civil War Monument - Union Soldier2025Side of Allendale Township Civil War Monument - Union…Side of Allendale Township Civil War Monument - Confederate Soldier2025Side of Allendale Township Civil War Monument - Confe…Allendale Township Civil War Monument2025Allendale Township Civil War MonumentAllendale Township Civil War Monument - Enslaved Child2025Allendale Township Civil War Monument - Enslaved ChildSt. Luke University Parish2020St. Luke University ParishSlave Child kneeling at the feet of a Confederate soldier2020Slave Child kneeling at the feet of a Confederate sol…Monument honoring a Confederate Soldier located in the Garden of Honor at the Allendale Community Park2020Monument honoring a Confederate Soldier located in th…Allendale, MI Confederate Monument2020Allendale, MI Confederate MonumentAllendale Monument Slave Child2020Allendale Monument Slave ChildMIMap-doton-Allendale2005MIMap-doton-Allendale
On the map

Allendale Township on the map, 1958 to 1972

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

Allendale Township on the 1958 USGS mapAllendale Township on the 1972 USGS map1958Allendale 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 Allendale Township.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Polkton TownshipIts storyB−Tallmadge TownshipIts storyC+LamontIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRobinson TownshipIts storyC−Blendon TownshipIts storyC+Georgetown TownshipIts storyC−

Questions about Allendale Township’s history

What year was Allendale Township founded?

In 1849, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Allendale Township’s post office opened in 1852.

How does Allendale Township rank for history?

Allendale Township is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #489 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.

How old are the homes in Allendale Township?

4% of Allendale 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 2003.

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 (11), 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.