More historic than 28% of U.S. towns · #583 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of Buena Vista Township was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1962. Below: maps from 1919 on and the census since 2000.
The Buena Vista Township post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Buena Vista (1868) and Crow Island (1882), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 7,845 in 20002020 census: 7,664158 years
How historic is Buena Vista Township?
C
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Buena Vista Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Buena Vista Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Buena Vista Township is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #583 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 Buena Vista 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 Buena Vista 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 still be C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.4 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 Buena Vista Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Buena Vista
1868–1901
Crow Island
1882–1895
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Buena VistaCrow IslandIndiantownRobin Glen Mobile Home CommunitySaginaw Village Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Buena Vista Post Officepost officeCrow Island Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Buena Vista Township
Buena Vista
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Buena Vista Township on the map, 1919 to 1973
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Buena Vista Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1919Saginaw 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 Buena Vista Township.
Buena Vista began in 1846 when Curtis Emerson bought an abandoned mill here and created a settlement around it. It was named to commemorate Zachary Taylor's then recent victory at the Battle of Buena Vista.
On July 30, 2013, the Saginaw Intermediate School District Board of Trustees officially dissolved the Buena Vista School District with the district area being split up between three other districts.
The Buena Vista Township post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Buena Vista Township rank for history?
Buena Vista Township is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #583 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 Buena Vista Township?
9% of Buena Vista Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1962.
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 (1), 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.
2019
