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History · Cornell Township

Cornell Township’s post office opened in 1899, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

1899first post office
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Cornell Township began

When was Cornell Township founded?

1899

The Cornell Township post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Woodlawn (1905), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 565127 years
Founding year: the first Cornell Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Cornell 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 writtenNo old photos of Cornell Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Cornell Township, and 6 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cornell Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cornell Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Another post office, Woodlawn, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cornell
1899–today
Woodlawn
1905–1923
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ChandlerCornellHendricksKingsleySalvaWoodlawn
Gone or out of use
Cornell StationlocaleWoodlawn Post Officepost officeWoodlawn Stationlocale

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Cornell Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cornell Township.

Read it all →

Cornell was initially settled in 1886 by Marcell Ashland and Edward Hollywood. It was founded in 1887 by George H. Mashek and Edward Arnold; Mashek named the community after his alma mater, Cornell University. A post office opened in Cornell on April 12, 1899; Edward Arnold was the first postmaster.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cornell Township, 1899 to 1923

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1899Post officeThe Cornell post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905Post officeThe Woodlawn post office opens
  5. 1923Post officeThe Woodlawn post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Cornell Township

Nobody well known was born in Cornell Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Robert John CornellAmerican priest, professor, and politician · b. 1919
F
Frank SmithCartoon animator and film director from the Uni… · b. 1911
E
Ed McBroomAmerican politician · b. 1981
G
Greg IvesAmerican NASCAR crew chief · b. 1979
M
Mike PreaseauAmerican college basketball player · b. 1936
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Baldwin TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEscanaba TownshipIts storyC−Harris TownshipIts storyC−Wells Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Cornell Township’s history

What year was Cornell Township founded?

The Cornell Township post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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). How TownRatings grades history →

From 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.