The Assyria Township post office opened in 1842, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Assyria (1842) and Ceylon (1888), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,992184 years
How historic is Assyria Township?
B
More historic than 61% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Assyria Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Assyria Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Assyria Township is more historic than 61% 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 Assyria 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 Assyria 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 Assyria 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
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Assyria
1842–1937
Ceylon
1888–1903
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Assyria
Gone or out of use
Assyria Post Officepost officeCeylon Post Officepost office
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Assyria Township
AssyriaBellCheckeredEllis
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Assyria Township on the map, 1918 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Assyria Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1918Battle Creek 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 Assyria Township.
The story so far
Assyria Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Assyria Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Assyria Township is a civil township of Barry County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 1,992. The unincorporated community of Assyria Center is located on M-66 at the corner of Tasker Road.
Its first post office opened in 1842. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,986 in 2010, 1,992 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Assyria Township, 1842 to 1937
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Assyria Township post office opened in 1842, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Assyria Township rank for history?
Assyria Township is more historic than 61% 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 Assyria Township?
18% of Assyria 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 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.
