The story
Read it all →How Curtis Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Curtis Township.
Curtis Township was organized in 1881 and named for its first settler E. D. Curtis.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
C−History
History · Curtis Township
Curtis Township’s post office opened in 1881
More historic than 21% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Curtis Township was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974.
1881first post office
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Curtis Township began
When was Curtis Township founded?
1881
The Curtis Township post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name. Six smaller post offices, Curtis (1881), Glennie Station (1889) and Curtisville (1897), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,087145 years
How historic is Curtis Township?
C−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 21% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Curtis Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Curtis Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Curtis Township is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Curtis Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1881, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.8% of homes (±1.7) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical MI town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 21%
NewerOlder
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 Curtis 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 C. The pre-1940 share (±1.7 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 Curtis Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Six other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Curtis
Glennie Station
Glennie
Curtisville
Lott
Kurtz
Bamfield
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BryantCheviersCurtisvilleGlennieKurtzWallace
Gone or out of use
Bamfield Post Officepost officeBamfield StationlocaleCurtisville Post Officepost officeGlennie StationlocaleKurtz Post Officepost officeLott Post Officepost officeLott StationlocaleStier Airstripairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Curtis Township
CurtisvilleGlennie
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Curtis Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Curtis Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Curtis Township, 1881 to 1894
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Curtis Township, decade by decade
2019
2018Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Mikado TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMitchell TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMillen TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPlainfield TownshipIts storyC−Oscoda Township1 historic placeC+Mentor TownshipIts storyD
Questions about Curtis Township’s history
What year was Curtis Township founded?
The Curtis Township post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Curtis Township rank for history?
Curtis Township is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns. 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 Curtis Township?
4% of Curtis Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1974.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (2), 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.