Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1844.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cannon Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cannon Township is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #448 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cannon 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 Cannon 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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1845.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Cannon Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area that would become Cannon Township was originally attached to neighboring Plainfield Township. In 1837, Andrew Watson brought his family to Cannon and built the first farm in the township. Over the next decade, many other pioneers arrived and settled. In 1845, the township was split from Plainfield and took its present name. The state legislature organized Cannon Township as "Churchtown" in 1846. At the first town meeting, held in 1848, it was renamed "Cannon", after Cannonsburg, the largest village.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cannon Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1972Cannonsburg sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Cannon Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Cannon Township
Nobody well known was born in Cannon Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1845, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Cannon Township’s post office opened in 1844.
How does Cannon Township rank for history?
Cannon Township is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #448 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 Cannon Township?
5% of Cannon Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1994.
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 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.
