Commerce Township’s post office opened in 1833, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 57% of U.S. towns · #305 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of Commerce Township was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Its Register listings are the Andrews-Leggett House and the Kittie C. McCoy House. Its Register listings are the Andrews-Leggett House and the Kittie C. McCoy House. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1907 on.
The Commerce Township post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Commerce (1833), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 43,058193 years
How historic is Commerce Township?
B
More historic than 57% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Commerce Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Commerce Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Commerce Township is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns, #305 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 Commerce 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 Commerce Township’s 0.7 sits near the middle of its state (65% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. 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 Commerce Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Commerce Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1907Pontiac 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 Commerce Township.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Commerce, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
CommerceGlengaryOakley Park
Gone or out of use
Commerce Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Commerce Township
Commerce VillageRichardson
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The area of the future Commerce Township saw its first settler, Abram Walrod, arrive in May 1824. Sufficient population growth meant that the original Novi Township was quartered in size by the organization of Commerce Township and Lyon Township for self-government on March 7, 1834, with Milford Township beginning separate supervision from Lyon Township in 1835.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Commerce Township post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Commerce Township rank for history?
Commerce Township is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns, #305 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 Commerce Township?
Two places: the Andrews-Leggett House (listed 1987) and the Kittie C. McCoy House (2009).
How old are the homes in Commerce Township?
3% of Commerce Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1991.
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 (10), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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