The Elkland Township post office opened in 1862, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Elkland (1862), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 3,532164 years
How historic is Elkland Township?
B+
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Elkland Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Elkland Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Elkland Township is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #219 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 Elkland 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 Elkland Township’s 2.9 sits above most of its state (71% 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 C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.1 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 Elkland 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 Elkland Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Elkland Township is a civil township of Tuscola County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,532 at the 2020 census. The village of Cass City is located within the southern part of the township.
Its first post office opened in 1862. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 3,528 in 2010, 3,532 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Elkland Township, 1862 to 1963
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 Elkland Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1963Gagetown sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Elkland Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Elkland Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The Elkland Township post office opened in 1862, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Elkland Township rank for history?
Elkland Township is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #219 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 Elkland Township?
One place: the First Presbyterian Church (listed 2006).
How old are the homes in Elkland Township?
28% of Elkland Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1962.
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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
2020
2020
2020
