Atlas Township’s post office opened in 1846, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 77% of U.S. towns · #148 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of Atlas Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 17 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1920 on, and the census since 1960.
The Atlas Township post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Atlas (1846), Davisonville (1848) and Kipp's Corners (1862), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 2,210 in 19602020 census: 8,352180 years
How historic is Atlas Township?
A−
More historic than 77% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Atlas Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Atlas Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Atlas Township is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #148 of 701 in Michigan. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Atlas 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 Atlas Township’s 21.7 sits above most of its state (87% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 18 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% 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 (±4.1 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 Atlas 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
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Atlas
1846–1849
Davisonville
1848–1854
Goodrich
1849–today
Atlas
1854–today
Kipp's Corners
1862–1871
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AtlasGoodrich
Gone or out of use
Kipp's Corners Post Officepost office
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Atlas Township
Atlas TownshipGoodrichHortonSweers
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Atlas Township on the map, 1920 to 1975
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Atlas Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1920Holly 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 Atlas Township.
Atlas Township was organized in 1836 as part of Lapeer County, and was one of the earliest townships in this region to receive settlers. The first settler was Asa Farrar, who, in September, 1839, purchased land on section 18 and built a log house upon it the same year. He was a brother of Pearson Farrar, who settled the same year in Grand Blanc upon an adjacent section. They came from Monroe County, New York. The first birth and the first marriage in the township occurred in Asa Farrar's family, respectively, in 1833 and 1834.
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.
The Atlas Township post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Atlas Township rank for history?
Atlas Township is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #148 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 Atlas Township?
Two places: the Alanson Green Farm House (listed 1982) and the Hegel Road Historic District (1982).
How old are the homes in Atlas Township?
7% of Atlas Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 (2), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
2019