Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1848.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bennington Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bennington Township is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #100 of 701 in Michigan. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bennington 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 Bennington Township’s 293 sits above most of its state (97% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 91 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% 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 (±8.4 points). Two sources give 1838.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Bennington Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first government land purchase was made by Samuel Nichols, Israel Parsons and Benjamin Powers in 1835. Nichols became the first settler in Bennington.
At a location called Hartwellville, the first store was opened by Giles Tucker. In 1838, Johnathon M. Hartwell, formerly of Norwich, NY, took over from Tucker.
Bennington Township was organized on March 6, 1838, with the area of township area 5 North Range 2, the future Perry Township, split off from Shiawassee Township. The first township supervisor was Lemuel Castle. Perry Township was separated off by an act on March 15, 1841. A rail station was opened at the Bennington community.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bennington Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1926Corunna 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 Bennington Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Bennington Township
Nobody well known was born in Bennington Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1838, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Bennington Township’s post office opened in 1848.
How does Bennington Township rank for history?
Bennington Township is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #100 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 Bennington Township?
One place: the Owosso Downtown Historic District (listed 2014).
How old are the homes in Bennington Township?
11% of Bennington Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1980.
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, 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.
