The story
Read it all →How Bingham Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Bingham Township.
Bingham Township was created in 1864 from part of Centerville Township.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B−History
History · Bingham Township
Bingham Township’s post office opened in 1878, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns · #395 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of Bingham Township was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 14 buildings. Below: maps from 1957 on.
1878first post office
2on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Bingham Township began
When was Bingham Township founded?
1878
The Bingham Township post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Bingham (1878) and Keswick (1889), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 2,577148 years
How historic is Bingham Township?
B−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Bingham Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bingham Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bingham Township is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #395 of 701 in Michigan. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bingham Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1878, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19402.6% of homes (±2.2) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register2 listings, 16 historic buildings, 60.8 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 47%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 44%
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 Bingham Township’s 60.8 sits above most of its state (92% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 16 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. 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 Bingham Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Bingham Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bingham Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Bingham
Keswick
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BinghamKeswickLeelanau Shores
Gone or out of use
Bingham Post Officepost officeBingham StationlocaleKeswick Post Officepost officeKeswick Stationlocale
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bingham Township
BinghamMaple GroveSutton Township
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Bingham Township, 1878 to 1957
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Add from your albumOn the map
Bingham Township on the map, 1957 to 1983
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bingham Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1957Traverse City sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bingham Township.
On the National Register
2 listings protect 16 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
16
each building in a district counts
first listed
1991
Bingham District No. 5 Schoolhouse
BuildingsDistricts
Architectural styles listings
Vernacular2
Greek Revival1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Bingham Township
Nobody well known was born in Bingham Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Bingham Township’s history
What year was Bingham Township founded?
The Bingham Township post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Bingham Township rank for history?
Bingham Township is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #395 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 Bingham Township?
Two places: the Bingham District No. 5 Schoolhouse (listed 1991) and the William and Margaret McFarland Core Farm (2005).
How old are the homes in Bingham Township?
3% of Bingham Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1986.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.