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History · Boon Township

Boon Township dates to 1888, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1956 on.

1888founded
0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Boon Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Boon Township began

When was Boon Township founded?

1888

Boon Township dates its founding to 1888 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1874.

2020 census: 650138 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1874.The full story ↓

What stands out about Boon 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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Boon Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Boon Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewBoon, MI location: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Springdale
1874–1892
Boon
1889–today
Harriette
1892–1923
Harrietta
1923–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BoonHarrietta
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Boon Township
EastHarriettaWest

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

The story

How Boon Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Boon Township.

Read it all →

Prior to European settlement, the area that is now Boon was utilized by the Hopewell as a site for building mounds and circles, as well as for farming several species of corn, bean and squash. The area was located along what is now known as the Old Indian Trail, which was used to connect the Cadillac area to the Traverse City area.

Boon was first settled as early as 1888 as a station on the Toledo, Ann Arbor, and Northern Michigan Railroad. The community was platted in 1889 and received its first office on December 19, 1899.

The community of Boon was listed as a newly-organized census-designated place for the 2010 census, meaning it now has officially defined boundaries and population statistics for the first time.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Boon Township, 1874 to 1956

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Springdale post office opens
  3. 1888
    FoundingBoon Township is established
  4. 1889Post officeThe Boon post office opens
  5. 1892Post officeThe Springdale post office closes
  6. 1892Post officeThe Harriette post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1923Post officeThe Harriette post office closes
  9. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Boon Township, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Boon, MI locationDate?Boon, MI location
Today3 recent
Boon, MI road signage2022Boon, MI road signageBoon, MI post office2022Boon, MI post officeBoon, MI (July 2022)2022Boon, MI (July 2022)
On the map

Boon Township on the map, 1956 to 1987

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

Boon Township on the 1956 USGS mapBoon Township on the 1987 USGS map1956Mesick 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 Boon Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Boon, MI location
Retake this viewBoon, MI location

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Boon Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Boon Township

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

See all →
Jan Harold BrunvandAmerican folklorist · b. 1933
Adolph WolgastAmerican boxer · b. 1888
Guy Vander JagtAmerican politician · b. 1931
L
Luke Winslow-KingAmerican singer-songwriter, guitarist and bandl… · b. 1983
C
Claude A. WatsonAmerican politician · b. 1885
George C. ThomsonAmerican football player · b. 1888
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Slagle TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSelma TownshipIts storyC−Henderson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAntioch TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Boon Township’s history

What year was Boon Township founded?

In 1888, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Boon Township’s post office opened in 1874.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (4), 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.