Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1848. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Birch Run Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Birch Run Township is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #552 of 701 in Michigan. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Birch Run 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 Birch Run 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 C to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.5 points). Two sources give 1852.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Birch Run Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Birch Run was established in 1852 as a station on the Pere Marquette Railroad. It was given a post office in 1954. In 1954, it was incorporated as a village.
Birch Run was founded as a station on the Pere Marquette Railroad by John Moore, its first postmaster, in 1852. It was named after its creek, which runs through a large birch area. In 1863, the town was renamed Deer Lick and remained so until 1868 when it reverted to Birch Run. Birch Run was incorporated as a village in 1955.
Birch Run was the home of the Great Lakes Storm, a defunct member of the Continental Basketball Association. The Storm played in the Birch Run Expo Center from 2001 until they disbanded in 2005.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Birch Run Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1967Birch Run North 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 Birch Run Township.
People over time
Birch Run Township, census by census
Between 844 and 1,653 people in every census since 1960.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Birch Run Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Birch Run Township
Nobody well known was born in Birch Run Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1852, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Birch Run Township’s post office opened in 1848, and the census of 1960 counted 844 people here.
How does Birch Run Township rank for history?
Birch Run Township is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #552 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 Birch Run Township?
12% of Birch Run Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 Wikimedia Commons (5), 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.
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