Constantine Township dates to 1831, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 93% of U.S. towns · #44 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 28 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1914 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1836.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Constantine Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Constantine Township is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #44 of 701 in Michigan. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Constantine 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 Constantine Township’s 83.9 sits above most of its state (93% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 34 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% 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 (±6.2 points). Two sources give 1831.
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 Constantine Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Potawatomi and related Native Americans historically had villages along the St. Joseph River and other waterways. Several of their leaders signed the Treaty of Chicago, agreeing to cede much of their land in southwestern Michigan, Indiana and Ohio country.
The village was platted in 1831 at the Fawn River's confluence with the St. Joseph River, where three European-American families had settled. A gristmill, the first in the county to run by water, had been built here in 1830.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Constantine Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1914Three Rivers 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 Constantine Township.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewSt. Joe River, Constantine, Michigan back, c. 1914
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Constantine Township’s page.
In 1831, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Constantine Township’s post office opened in 1836, and the census of 1850 counted 760 people here.
How does Constantine Township rank for history?
Constantine Township is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #44 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 Constantine Township?
5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Gov. John S. Barry House (listed 1972, the first), and 1 historic district, the Constantine Historic Commercial District, with 28 contributing buildings. 34 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Constantine Township?
26% of Constantine Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 (9), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.
c. 1914
c. 1944
c. 1951
2010
2009
2005
