The Elk Rapids Township post office opened in 1863, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Stevens (1854), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 2,521163 years
How historic is Elk Rapids Township?
B+
More historic than 69% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Elk Rapids Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Elk Rapids Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Elk Rapids Township is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #210 of 701 in Michigan. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Elk Rapids 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 Elk Rapids Township’s 7.7 sits above most of its state (80% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.4 points). 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 Elk Rapids Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Elk Rapids Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Elk Rapids Township is a civil township of Antrim County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,521 at the 2020 census. The village of Elk Rapids is located within the township.
Its first post office opened in 1863. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,631 to 2,521 (-4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Elk Rapids Township, 1854 to 1957
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Elk Rapids Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1957Elk Rapids 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 Elk Rapids Township.
On the National Register
2 historic places in Elk Rapids Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The Elk Rapids Township post office opened in 1863, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Elk Rapids Township rank for history?
Elk Rapids Township is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #210 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 Elk Rapids Township?
Two places: the Hughes House (listed 1976) and the Elk Rapids First Methodist Episcopal Church (2015).
How old are the homes in Elk Rapids Township?
24% of Elk Rapids Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
2011
