On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Beaver Township is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #574 of 701 in Michigan. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Beaver 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 Beaver 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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Beaver Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Beaver Township was organized March 13, 1867. Levi Willard, Josiah L. Wellington, and Oscar H. Kellogg were appointed to oversee the first township meeting to be held on the first Monday in April of that year. In 1873, Deep River Township was set off from Beaver Township. A post office name Willard was opened on February 26, 1885. On November 30, 1892, the Duel community received its post office. On April 20, 1894, the Loehne community had its post office open. On Dec 31, 1907, the Willard Post Office was closed down. The Loehne post office closed on July 30, 1904. On Mar 31, 1908, the Duel post office was closed.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Beaver Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1962Willard sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Beaver Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Beaver Township
Nobody well known was born in Beaver Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Beaver Township is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #574 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 Beaver Township?
10% of Beaver Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1974.
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 Wikipedia, 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.
