The story
Read it all →How Colon Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Colon Township.
Colon was platted in 1844. It was incorporated as a village in 1904.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0AHistory
History · Colon Township
Colon Township’s post office opened in 1836, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 85% of U.S. towns · #101 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Farrand Hall. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1961 on, and the census since 1860.
1836first post office
1on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Quick answers
How Colon Township began
When was Colon Township founded?
1836
The Colon Township post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Fairfax (1891), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 311 in 18602020 census: 3,325190 years
How historic is Colon Township?
A
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 85% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Colon Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Colon Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Colon Township is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #101 of 701 in Michigan. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Colon Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1836, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194027.3% of homes (±6.0) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 3.0 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 85%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 86%
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 Colon Township’s 3.0 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 A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.0 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 Colon Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Then and nowOne place photographed years apart. Drag to compare.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Colon Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsA post office since 1836: 190 years of Colon Township.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Colon Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Colon Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Then & now
The same spot, 140 years apart
Drag across each photo to compare.
18772017Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Fairfax, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Colon
Fairfax
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ColonFairfaxWashburn Lake Village Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Colon StationlocaleFairfax Post Officepost officeFairfax Stationlocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Colon Township
LakesideSouth Colon
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Colon Township, 1836 to 1961
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Colon Township, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
2021
2017
2017
2017
2014
2005On the map
Colon Township on the map, 1961 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Colon Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1961Colon sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Colon Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Colon Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Farrand Hall
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
Greek Revival1
Federal1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Colon Township, census by census
Between 311 and 1,227 people in every census since 1860.
16 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Colon Township’s Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Colon Township’s history
What year was Colon Township founded?
The Colon Township post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Colon Township rank for history?
Colon Township is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #101 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 Colon Township?
One place: the Farrand Hall (listed 1972).
How old are the homes in Colon Township?
27% of Colon Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1963.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
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 Wikimedia Commons (7), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.