The Arcadia Township post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Seven smaller post offices, Arcadia (1857), Five Lakes (1869) and Asa (1874), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 3,148169 years
How historic is Arcadia Township?
C
More historic than 31% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Arcadia Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Arcadia Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Arcadia Township is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #556 of 701 in Michigan. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Arcadia 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 Arcadia 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 is a Census survey estimate (±4.8 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 Arcadia Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Seven other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Arcadia
1857–1860
Five Lakes
1869–1909
Asa
1874–1878
Arkdale
1882–1891
Whiting
1882–1902
Kings Mill
1883–1934
Lum
1884–1964
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Five LakesKings MillLumSandhill Mobile Home Estates
Gone or out of use
Arkdale Post Officepost officeFive Lakes Post Officepost officeKings Mill Post Officepost officeKings Mill StationlocaleLum Post Officepost officeLum Stationlocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Arcadia Township
BahelLum
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Arcadia Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Arcadia Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Five Lakes was settled in 1855. Three sawmills were built there with one on the Mayfield Township side. On May 28, 1869, a Five Lakes post office under postmaster William G. Stone, an inn-keeper, opened. The post office on April 6, 1874, was renamed to Asa but on April 29, 1878, returned to the Five Lakes name. A post office opened at King's Mill on December 4, 1883. The Lum settled as early as 1850's there was a school built before 1874. Elijah Vincent became the first postmaster on March 24, 1884.
In January 1909, the Lum depot suffered an explosion. The King's Mill post office closed on February 15, 1934.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Arcadia Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1963Attica 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 Arcadia Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Arcadia Township
Nobody well known was born in Arcadia Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Arcadia Township post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Arcadia Township rank for history?
Arcadia Township is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #556 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 Arcadia Township?
11% of Arcadia Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1986.
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, 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.
