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B+History
History · Bridgewater Township

Bridgewater Township’s post office opened in 1843, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 68% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1906 on.

1843first post office
0on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Dwight Burdette · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

How Bridgewater Township began

When was Bridgewater Township founded?

1843

The Bridgewater Township post office opened in 1843, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Columbia Lake (1833) and River Raisin (1864), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 1,615183 years

How historic is Bridgewater Township?

B+

More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Bridgewater Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Bridgewater Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bridgewater Township is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bridgewater Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1843, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194024.6% of homes (±6.8) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%A−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MI town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 68%
NewerOlder

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 Bridgewater 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 B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.8 points). 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 Bridgewater 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 Bridgewater Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19063 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1975. Watch Bridgewater Township change.Deep rootsA post office since 1843: 183 years of Bridgewater Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bridgewater Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
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.

Columbia Lake
1833–1843
Bridgewater
1843–today
River Raisin
1864–1902
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BridgewaterRiver Raisin
Gone or out of use
Bridgewater StationlocaleMarkham AirportairportRiver Raisin Post Officepost office
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bridgewater Township
Bridgewater CenterGaddSaint John's LutheranShellenberger Road

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

On the map

Bridgewater Township on the map, 1906 to 1975

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

Bridgewater Township on the 1906 USGS mapBridgewater Township on the 1967 USGS mapBridgewater Township on the 1975 USGS map1906Saline 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 Bridgewater Township.

The story

How Bridgewater Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bridgewater Township.

Read it all →

Bridgewater Township was organized in 1832. It was originally known as Hixon Township after one of it first settlers, Colonel Daniel Hixon. In 1833, it was renamed Bridgewater Township after Bridgewater, New York.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bridgewater Township, 1833 to 1906

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1833Post officeThe Columbia Lake post office opens
  3. 1843Post officeThe Columbia Lake post office closes
  4. 1843Post officeThe Bridgewater post office opens
  5. 1864Post officeThe River Raisin post office opens
  6. 1895In the archiveStandard atlas of Washtenaw County, Michigan - including a plat book of the villages, cit…
  7. 20th century
  8. 1902Post officeThe River Raisin post office closes
  9. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Bridgewater Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s1 item
Standard atlas of Washtenaw County, Michigan - including a plat book of the villages, cities and townships of the count…1895Standard atlas of Washtenaw County, Michigan - includ…Map
1900s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today17 recent
Bridgewater Township, MI location2019Bridgewater Township, MI locationSheep Feeding in a Farmyard Clinton Road Bridgewater Township Michigan2012Sheep Feeding in a Farmyard Clinton Road Bridgewater …Peacock in a Field, 9386 Schellenberger Road, Bridgewater Township, Michigan2012Peacock in a Field, 9386 Schellenberger Road, Bridgew…Oat Field Schwab Road Bridgewater Township Michigan2012Oat Field Schwab Road Bridgewater Township MichiganHorses in the Pendragon Equestrian Center Bridgewater Township Michigan2012Horses in the Pendragon Equestrian Center Bridgewater…Cattle in a Farmyard Bridgewater Township Michigan2012Cattle in a Farmyard Bridgewater Township MichiganAlgae-Covered Pond Bemis Road Bridgewater Township Michigan2012Algae-Covered Pond Bemis Road Bridgewater Township Mi…Weidmayer Farm, 13360 East Austin Road, Manchester, Michigan2011Weidmayer Farm, 13360 East Austin Road, Manchester, M…U.S. Post Office, 8994 Austin Road, Bridgewater, Michigan, 481762011U.S. Post Office, 8994 Austin Road, Bridgewater, Mich…Todd ^ Lynette Buter racing stable, 10383 East Austin Road, Manchester, Michigan2011Todd ^ Lynette Buter racing stable, 10383 East Austin…Caboose on railroad bridge2011Caboose on railroad bridgeButler and Sukup storage bins Washtenaw County Michigan2011Butler and Sukup storage bins Washtenaw County Michig…Bridgewater Township Township Cemetery2010Bridgewater Township Township CemeteryBridgewater Township Farm2010Bridgewater Township FarmBridgewater Township Corn Field2010Bridgewater Township Corn FieldBridgewater Township Clinton Assembly of God2010Bridgewater Township Clinton Assembly of GodBridgewater Michigan2010Bridgewater Michigan
Famous people

Famous people close to Bridgewater Township

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

See all →
Frank D. BaldwinDouble recipient of the United States Army Meda… · b. 1842
Vernon Orlando BaileyAmerican mammalogist, zoologist and specimen co… · b. 1864
N
Nick DavisAmerican football player · b. 1979
F
Fred B. KniffenAmerican historical geographer · b. 1900
L
L. Whitney WatkinsAmerican politician · b. 1873
L
Leon ExelbyAmerican football player and coach · b. 1888
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Saline TownshipIts storyBManchester Township2 historic placesAFreedom TownshipIts storyB−Clinton Township1 historic placeA

Questions about Bridgewater Township’s history

What year was Bridgewater Township founded?

The Bridgewater Township post office opened in 1843, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Bridgewater Township rank for history?

Bridgewater Township is more historic than 68% 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 Bridgewater Township?

25% of Bridgewater Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1977.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (18), 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.