The Bainbridge Township post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Bainbridge (1836), Spinks Corners (1888) and Penyann (1898), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 2,682190 years
How historic is Bainbridge Township?
B+
More historic than 70% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Bainbridge Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Bainbridge Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bainbridge Township is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #198 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 Bainbridge 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 Bainbridge 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 (±6.4 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 Bainbridge 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 Bainbridge Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Bainbridge Township is a civil township of Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 2,682. It was organized in 1837. The name is a transfer from Bainbridge, New York.
Its first post office opened in 1836. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,850 to 2,682 (-6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bainbridge Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1927Benton Harbor 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 Bainbridge Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Bainbridge Township
Nobody well known was born in Bainbridge Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Bainbridge Township post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Bainbridge Township rank for history?
Bainbridge Township is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #198 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 Bainbridge Township?
28% of Bainbridge Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1968.
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 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.
