Chesterfield Township dates to 1842, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns · #326 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 5 buildings. Most of Chesterfield Township was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1929 on.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1856.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Chesterfield Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chesterfield Township is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #326 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Chesterfield 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 Chesterfield Township’s 1.1 sits above most of its state (66% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1842.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 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 Chesterfield 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
Another post office, Milton, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Anchor Bay GardensAnchor Bay HarborAnchor Bay ShoresChesterfieldChesterfield ShoresChouteau Chesterfield Mobile Home ParkLottivueMiltonPoint LakeviewSebille Manor
Gone or out of use
Chesterfield Post Officepost officeChesterfield StationlocaleLenox Gas Storage FieldoilfieldMilton Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Chesterfield Township
HartUnion
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Chesterfield Township, 1842 to 1997
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Chesterfield Township was originally established as a general law township in 1842. It became a charter township in 1989.
The original European-American settlement in the area was a hamlet called Chesterfield, first settled in 1830. When the Grand Trunk Railway came through in 1865, it stimulated the development of businesses in the hamlet. It had a post office from 1875 until 1907, but has since lost its specific identity.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Chesterfield Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1929Mt Clemens 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 Chesterfield Township.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewTwenty-Four Mile Road Bridge, Spanning North Branch of Clinton River
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Chesterfield Township’s page.
In 1842, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Chesterfield Township’s post office opened in 1856.
How does Chesterfield Township rank for history?
Chesterfield Township is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #326 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.
What is on the National Register in Chesterfield Township?
One place: the Kolping Park and Chapel (listed 1996).
How old are the homes in Chesterfield Township?
1% of Chesterfield Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), 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 the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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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