From Aurelius Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Aurelius Township began
When was Aurelius Township founded?
1837
The Aurelius Township post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Aurelius (1837), Aurelius (1854) and North Aurelius (1858), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 4,354189 years
How historic is Aurelius Township?
B+
More historic than 69% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Aurelius Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Aurelius Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Aurelius Township is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #206 of 701 in Michigan. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Aurelius 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 Aurelius 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 (±8.8 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 Aurelius 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.
Aurelius
1837–1841
Aurelius
1854–1903
North Aurelius
1858–1903
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AureliusNorth Aurelius
Gone or out of use
Aurelius Post Officepost officeBergeon FieldairportNorth Aurelius Post Officepost office
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Aurelius Township
FowlerGreenwoodNorth AureliusPlains
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Aurelius Township on the map, 1910 to 1973
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Aurelius Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1910Lansing 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 Aurelius Township.
The story so far
Aurelius Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Aurelius Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Aurelius Township is a civil township of Ingham County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 4,354, a significant increase from 3,525 at the 2010 census.
Its first post office opened in 1837. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,525 to 4,354 (+24%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Aurelius Township, 1837 to 1910
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Aurelius Township post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Aurelius Township rank for history?
Aurelius Township is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #206 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 Aurelius Township?
27% of Aurelius Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1977.
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), 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.
Date?
2009