Founding year: the first Baroda Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1907.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Baroda Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Baroda Township is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #235 of 701 in Michigan. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Baroda 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 Baroda Township’s 14.1 sits above most of its state (85% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% 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 (±4.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1907.
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 Baroda Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first European American settlers started to arrive in the 1830s and began clearing the land, draining the swamps, and building homes and farms. Michael Houser is considered the founder of Baroda, bargaining with the Indiana and Lake Michigan Railway Company to establish a station on his land. Houser platted the village ca. 1890. Houser named the community after Baroda in Gujarat, India. The village incorporated in 1907. The Baroda Post Office opened on January 1, 1891.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Baroda Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1927Niles 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 Baroda Township.
On the National Register
1 listing protects 4 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The Baroda Township post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1907.
How does Baroda Township rank for history?
Baroda Township is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #235 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 Baroda Township?
One place: the Ninth District Lighthouse Depot (listed 1993).
How old are the homes in Baroda Township?
17% of Baroda Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.6 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.
