The Chase Township post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Norway Hall (1875) and Oliver (1898), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,153154 years
How historic is Chase Township?
B−
More historic than 49% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Chase Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Chase Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chase Township is more historic than 49% 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 Chase 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 Chase 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 C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.1 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 Chase 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.
Chase
1872–today
Norway Hall
1875–1878
Oliver
1898–1902
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ChaseOlivers
Gone or out of use
Norway Hall Post Officepost officeOliver Post Officepost officeOlivers Stationlocale
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Chase Township
ChaseChase TownshipPioneerVanCamp
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Chase Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Chase Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Chase Township is a civil township of Lake County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,153 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Chase is the only significant population center in the township. Chase is located where U.S. Highway 10 (US 10) crosses the Middle Branch of the Pere Marquette River at 43°53′21″N 85°38′08″W. The post office in Chase serves ZIP Code 49623, which includes most of the northwest part of Chase Township as well as the southwest portion of Pinora Township, the southeast portion of Cherry Valley Township, and the northeast portion of Yates Township. Both the community and township were named after Salmon P. Chase, the Chief Justice of the Uni…
Its first post office opened in 1872. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,137 in 2010, 1,153 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Chase Township, 1872 to 1959
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Chase Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1959Reed City 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 Chase Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Chase Township
Nobody well known was born in Chase Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Chase Township post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Chase Township rank for history?
Chase Township is more historic than 49% 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 Chase Township?
28% of Chase Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 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.
