The China Township post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, China (1835), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 3,509191 years
How historic is China Township?
B+
More historic than 71% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first China Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives China Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, China Township is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #195 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 China 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 China Township’s 2.9 sits above most of its state (72% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.9 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 China Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of China Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
China Township is a charter township of St. Clair County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,509 at the 2020 Census. It is named after China, Maine.
Its first post office opened in 1835. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 3,551 in 2010, 3,509 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of China Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1928Hicky 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 China Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in China Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The China Township post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does China Township rank for history?
China Township is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #195 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 China Township?
One place: the Indian Trail Road-Belle River Bridge (listed 2000).
How old are the homes in China Township?
11% of China Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1987.
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 National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
