Clinton Township dates to 1782, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 59% of U.S. towns · #294 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of Clinton Township was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 7 buildings. Below: maps from 1929 on and the census since 2000.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1857.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Clinton Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clinton Township is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #294 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 Clinton Township’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Clinton Township ranks #213 on History.
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 Clinton Township’s 0.7 sits above most of its state (65% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at Clinton Township’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1782.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Clinton Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first settlement on the land that became Clinton Township was called Gnadenhuetten and was established in 1782 by Rev. David Zeisberger, but closed in 1786. It was organized as "Huron Township" on August 12, 1818, named after what was then known as the Huron River. Because of confusion with another Huron River south of Detroit, on July 17, 1824, the Michigan Territorial Legislature renamed both the township and the river after DeWitt Clinton, the popular governor of New York from 1817 to 1823 who was largely responsible for building the Erie Canal which enabled many settlers to come to Michigan.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Clinton 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 Clinton Township.
On the National Register
1 listing protects 7 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
In 1782, according to Wikidata. Clinton Township’s post office opened in 1857, and the census of 2000 counted 95,648 people here.
How does Clinton Township rank for history?
Clinton Township is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #294 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 Clinton Township?
One place: the Clinton Grove Cemetery (listed 1996).
How old are the homes in Clinton Township?
2% of Clinton Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), 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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
