Most of Birch Run was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1984 on and the census since 1960.
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’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Birch Run is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns. 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’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’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 still be C. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. 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’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.
Passages that mention Birch Run, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Saginaw County, Michigan1881 · page 723Read the page →
Read the text
occupies the southeastern angle of the county. It forms a rich agricultural district, and is inhabited by a thrifty, intelligent people. The Flint & Pere Marquette railroad runs through its southwestern sections, with a depot at the village of Birch Run. The creek, after which the township is named, waters the central sections. The north feeder rises in section 14, on the farm of E. L.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Saginaw County, Michigan1881 · page 727Read the page →
Read the text
The rest of the history of Birch Run township can be better told in the form of brief personal sketches of its principal citizens, many of whom are the pioneers that opened the settlements here and materially helped to make this community what it is to-day.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
In 1852, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Birch Run’s post office opened in 1848, and the census of 1960 counted 844 people here.
How does Birch Run rank for history?
Birch Run is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns. 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?
8% of Birch Run’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 1979.
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) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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