More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #641 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of Almena Township was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1946 on.
Photo: Compiled from official records and local inspection by W.H. Goss, County Surveyor. Drawn by M.K. Orton. · Public domain
Quick answers
How Almena Township began
When was Almena Township founded?
1861
The Almena Township post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name. Four smaller post offices, Almena Centre (1848), Waverly (1852) and Brewerville (1857), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 5,308165 years
How historic is Almena Township?
C−
More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Almena Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Almena Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Almena Township is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #641 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 Almena 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 Almena 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 C. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. 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 Almena Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first permanent white settler in Almena Township was Jonas Barber, who settled there in 1835. The township was set off in 1842, reportedly named after a Potawatomi princess. Samuel Fisk operated a grist mill, from which the settlement became known as Almena Mills. A Free Will Baptist Church was established at Covey Hill near the edge of the township in 1843. A post office named Almena Centre operated from April 1848 until February 1849. In October 1861, the post office formerly in Brewerville (location unknown) was transferred to and renamed Almena, operating until September 1905.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Almena Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1946Gobles 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 Almena 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 viewVan Buren County Michigan 1906 Almena Township, 1906
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Almena Township’s page.
The Almena Township post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Almena Township rank for history?
Almena Township is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #641 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 Almena Township?
3% of Almena Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1987.
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), 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.
