The Ellington Township post office opened in 1862, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Ellington (1862), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,325164 years
How historic is Ellington Township?
C+
More historic than 38% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Ellington Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Ellington Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ellington Township is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ellington 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 Ellington 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 B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.4 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 Ellington 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 Ellington Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Ellington Township is a civil township of Tuscola County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,325 at the 2020 census. The area is known as the “thumb of Michigan”
Its first post office opened in 1862. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,332 in 2010, 1,325 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Ellington 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 Ellington Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1963Ellington 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 Ellington Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Ellington Township
Nobody well known was born in Ellington Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Ellington Township post office opened in 1862, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Ellington Township rank for history?
Ellington Township is more historic than 38% 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 Ellington Township?
17% of Ellington Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 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.
