Its Register listing is the Johannesburg Manufacturing Company Store. Most of Charlton Township was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: maps from 1949 on.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Charlton Township is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Charlton 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 Charlton Township’s 6.8 sits above most of its state (79% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.7 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Charlton Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Charlton Township is a community rich in history, as it emerged with lumbering and milling operations in 1875. Johannesburg was incorporated in 1901, home to the lumbering company of Johannesburg Mfg. Co., operated by the Sailing, Hanson and Michelson families. The town was named after Johanna Hanson, who is the wife of the president of the company. The company was responsible for much of the construction in the small town, including the development of a branch railroad line, which served as a lifeline for the town. At its peak, Johannesburg was a bustling community of 700. By 1929, 71 lumbering operations had ceased.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Charlton Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1949Lewiston 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 Charlton Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Charlton Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Charlton Township is more historic than 43% 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.
What is on the National Register in Charlton Township?
One place: the Johannesburg Manufacturing Company Store (listed 2009).
How old are the homes in Charlton Township?
4% of Charlton Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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