The Cleon Township post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Five smaller post offices, Cleon (1871), Yates (1884) and Pomona (1889), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,063155 years
How historic is Cleon Township?
C
More historic than 30% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Cleon Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Cleon Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cleon Township is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cleon 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 Cleon 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 (±3.6 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 Cleon 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
Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Cleon
1871–1902
Yates
1884–1902
Pomona
1889–1916
Copemish
1890–today
Harlan
1890–1935
Lemon Lake
1902–1904
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CopemishHarlanPomona
Gone or out of use
Copemish StationlocaleHarlan Post Officepost officeHarlan StationlocaleLemon Lake Post Officepost officeLemon Lake StationlocalePomona Post Officepost officePomona Stationlocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Cleon Township
Cleon TownshipHarlan
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Cleon Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cleon Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Cleon Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Cleon Township is a civil township of Manistee County located in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,063 at the 2020 census, up from 957 in 2010.
Its first post office opened in 1871. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 957 to 1,063 (+11%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Cleon Township, 1871 to 1957
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 Cleon Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1957Copemish 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 Cleon Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Cleon Township
Nobody well known was born in Cleon Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Cleon Township post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Cleon Township rank for history?
Cleon Township is more historic than 30% 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 Cleon Township?
10% of Cleon Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1990.
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.
