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History · Bliss Township

Bliss Township’s post office opened in 1878, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1958 on.

1878first post office
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Bliss Township began, and where its name came from

When was Bliss Township founded?

1878

The Bliss Township post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Bliss (1878), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 568148 years

How did Bliss Township get its name?

Bliss Township was named after Governor Aaron T. Bliss.

Founding year: the first Bliss Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

What stands out about Bliss Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Bliss Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Bliss Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bliss Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Bliss Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bliss Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Bliss Township is a civil township of Emmet County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 568. It was named after Governor Aaron T. Bliss. Bliss was first platted as allotments for members of the Mackinac Bands of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians in the late 1800s. Bliss Township is the location of Wilderness State Park, as well as Grays Reef Light, Waugoshance Light, and White Shoal Light.

Its first post office opened in 1878. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 620 to 568 (-8%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Bliss Township, 1878 to 1958

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878Post officeThe Bliss post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1921Post officeThe Bliss post office closes
  5. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.
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On the map

Bliss Township on the map, 1958 to 1982

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bliss Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Bliss Township on the 1958 USGS mapBliss Township on the 1982 USGS map1958Pellston 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 Bliss Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Bliss Township

Nobody well known was born in Bliss Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Prentiss M. BrownAmerican politician · b. 1889
Aubrey FitchUnited States Navy admiral · b. 1883
Gerald F. BoganUnited States Navy admiral · b. 1894
R
Robert Klark GrahamAmerican eugenicist · b. 1906
Elizabeth Whitney WilliamsAmerican lighthousekeeper · b. 1844
Raymond Wesley StarrUnited States federal judge · b. 1888
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Bliss, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Bliss
Gone or out of use
Bliss Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Bliss Township
Bliss Township

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Carp Lake TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCross Village TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCenter TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bliss Township’s history

What year was Bliss Township founded?

The Bliss Township post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From 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.