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History · Covington Township

Covington Township dates to 1885, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1991 on.

1885founded
0on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Covington Township began

When was Covington Township founded?

1885

Covington Township dates its founding to 1885 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1890.

2020 census: 375141 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1890.The full story ↓

What stands out about Covington 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 Covington Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Covington Township, and 6 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Covington Township’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Covington Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Covington 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, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Murphy
1890–1894
Covington
1895–today
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CovingtonNestoriaTiogaTunisVermilacWatton
Gone or out of use
Covington StationlocaleMurphy Post Officepost officeMurphy StationlocaleNestoria Post Officepost officeWatton Stationlocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Covington Township
CovingtonCovington

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

The story

How Covington Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Covington Township.

Read it all →

Covington was first settled by French-Canadians around 1885, and was named for the postmaster's home town of Covington, Kentucky. The community was a stop along the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway.

As the amount of forest land declined due to logging, farming became more prevalent. When a number of Finnish settlers started arriving in 1898, eventually outnumbering the small French and Swedish population, they planted fields of potatoes, corn, and wheat, and started pasturing milk cows. Others found work in the booming logging industry, buoyed by an abundant supply of cordwood and pulpwood.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Covington Township, 1885 to 1991

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1885
    FoundingCovington Township is established
  3. 1890Post officeThe Murphy post office opens
  4. 1894Post officeThe Murphy post office closes
  5. 1895Post officeThe Covington post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1991On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Covington Township, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Covington (CDP), MI location2023Covington (CDP), MI locationCovington Town Hall2019Covington Town HallCovingtonMichiganSignUS1412010CovingtonMichiganSignUS141CovingtonMichiganPostOfficeUS1412010CovingtonMichiganPostOfficeUS141CovingtonMichiganDowntownUS1412010CovingtonMichiganDowntownUS141
On the map

Covington Township on the map in 1991

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Covington Township.

Covington Township on the 1991 USGS map1991LAnse sheet · 1:100,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Covington Township.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Spurr TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDuncan TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHematite Township5 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBaraga Township3 historic placesAL'Anse Township3 historic placesB+

Questions about Covington Township’s history

What year was Covington Township founded?

In 1885, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Covington Township’s post office opened in 1890.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 Wikimedia Commons (5), 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.