Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1871.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Clearwater Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clearwater Township is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #602 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 Clearwater 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 Clearwater 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 C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.4 points). Two sources give 1867.
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 Clearwater Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first permanent white settler in what is now Kalkaska County was William George Copeland, a farmer born in Nottinghamshire, who located there in the fall of 1855, while it was still attached to Grand Traverse County. For the next twelve years, he and his wife were the only permanent white residents of the county. A dam had been built on the Barker Creek about the time Copeland moved there, but a planned mill was never built. The next permanent resident in the township was William H. Bockes, a native of Medina County, Ohio and a Civil War veteran. In June 1866, he purchased land in the township near Barker Creek. After returning to Ohio to marry his wife in October, they both returned immediately to take up residence. Another early resident in the Barker Creek area was John H.F. Letherby, born in England and moved to Canada at the age of 16. He settled in section 32 near Barker Cre…
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Clearwater Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1957Elk Rapids 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 Clearwater Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Clearwater Township
Nobody well known was born in Clearwater Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1867, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Clearwater Township’s post office opened in 1871.
How does Clearwater Township rank for history?
Clearwater Township is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #602 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 Clearwater Township?
7% of Clearwater Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1979.
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.
