Dexter Township dates to 1824, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 63% of U.S. towns · #253 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of Dexter Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Its Register listing is the Bell Road Bridge. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1849.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Dexter Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dexter Township is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #253 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 Dexter 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 Dexter Township’s 1.5 sits above most of its state (67% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.7 points). Two sources give 1824.
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 Dexter Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost half of its people between 1870 and 1920, then grew 7-fold.
18 censuses, 1850–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Dexter Township’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
Dexter Township on the map, 1902 to 1996
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dexter Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1902Dexter 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 Dexter Township.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Base Lake
1849–1882
Birkett
1882–1893
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
DoverHudson Mills
Gone or out of use
Birkett Post Officepost office
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Dexter Township
DexterHudsonNorth LakeSaint Josephs
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The area that became Dexter was settled in 1824 by land speculator and lawyer Samuel W. Dexter, who purchased a tract of land at the confluence of Mill Creek and the Huron River. Prior to white settlement, the area was home to members of the Potawatomi tribe. Dexter was the village's first postmaster and became the first chief justice of Washtenaw County when it was formally organized in 1826, earning the nickname "Judge Dexter" for the rest of his life. The settlement, originally known as the Mill Creek Settlement, was officially platted in 1830 and renamed Dexter in honor of Dexter's father, Samuel Dexter, a former U.S. senator and cabinet member under President John Adams.
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.
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.
In 1824, according to Wikidata. Dexter Township’s post office opened in 1849, and the census of 1850 counted 850 people here.
How does Dexter Township rank for history?
Dexter Township is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #253 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 Dexter Township?
One place: the Bell Road Bridge (listed 1996).
How old are the homes in Dexter Township?
7% of Dexter Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1984.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
