The Columbus Township post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Columbus (1839), Hickey (1895) and Columbus (1909), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 4,112187 years
How historic is Columbus Township?
B−
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Columbus Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Columbus Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Columbus Township is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #358 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Columbus 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 Columbus 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 B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.6 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 Columbus Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The creation of the Fort Gratiot Turnpike, now known as Gratiot Road, in 1832 led to the settlement of Columbus Township. Columbus Township was organized as a township on March 11, 1837. The Township was named for explorer Christopher Columbus, and Theodore Bethey served as the Township's first supervisor. In 1839 the Grand Trunk Western Railroad opened a small train station. In 1859, a 12-year-old Thomas Edison was given his first job, as a newsboy on the Grand Trunk Western Railroad line between Port Huron and Detroit. In 1992, the Richmond Area Historical and Genealogical Society[link removed] moved the 1900-era Grand Trunk Railroad Depot located in Hickey to the nearby community of Richmond.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Columbus Township.
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 Columbus Township.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Columbus Township post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Columbus Township rank for history?
Columbus Township is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #358 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 Columbus Township?
10% of Columbus Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1992.
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.
