Antwerp Township’s post office opened in 1842, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 70% of U.S. towns · #202 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of Antwerp Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Its Register listing is the Houppert Winery Complex. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1944 on.
How Antwerp Township began, and where its name came from
When was Antwerp Township founded?
1842
The Antwerp Township post office opened in 1842, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Antwerp (1842), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 13,425184 years
How did Antwerp Township get its name?
Antwerp Township was named after the major Belgian city of Antwerp.
How historic is Antwerp Township?
B+
More historic than 70% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Antwerp Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
History grade
What drives Antwerp Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Antwerp Township is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #202 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Antwerp 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 Antwerp Township’s 2.2 sits above most of its state (69% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±2.1 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 Antwerp Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Antwerp Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Antwerp Township is a civil township of Van Buren County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 13,425. It was named after the major Belgian city of Antwerp.
Its first post office opened in 1842. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 12,182 to 13,425 (+10%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
By decade
Antwerp Township, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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 Antwerp Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1944Marcellus 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 Antwerp 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 Antwerp Township, 1906
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Antwerp Township’s page.
The Antwerp Township post office opened in 1842, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Antwerp Township rank for history?
Antwerp Township is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #202 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 Antwerp Township?
One place: the Houppert Winery Complex (listed 2000).
How old are the homes in Antwerp Township?
8% of Antwerp Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1989.
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), 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.
