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History · Ellis Township

Half of Ellis Township’s homes were built after 1994

Most of Ellis Township was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Below: maps from 1957 on.

0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Ellis Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Ellis Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ellis Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ellis Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Ellis Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ellis Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Ellis Township is a civil township of Cheboygan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 557 at the 2020 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 596 to 557 (-7%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Ellis Township, 1903 to 1957

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1903Post officeThe Ellisville post office opens
  3. 1906Post officeThe Ellisville post office closes
  4. 1906Post officeThe Afton post office opens
  5. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Ellis Township, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Afton, Michigan2024Afton, MichiganAfton, MI post office2024Afton, MI post officeEllis Township, Michigan2022Ellis Township, MichiganEllis Township, MI location22019Ellis Township, MI location2Ellis Township, MI location2019Ellis Township, MI location
On the map

Ellis Township on the map, 1957 to 1986

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ellis Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Ellis Township on the 1957 USGS mapEllis Township on the 1986 USGS map1957Wolverine 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 Ellis Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Ellis Township

Nobody well known was born in Ellis Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
M
Marjorie MatthewsAmerican bishop · b. 1916
F
Frank FosterAmerican politician from Michigan · b. 1986
C
Chris HassAmerican basketball player · b. 1994
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Ellisville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Ellisville
1903–1906
Afton
1906–today
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Afton
Gone or out of use
Afton Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Ellis Township
Saint Monica's Catholic

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Walker TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNunda TownshipIts storyCMentor TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKoehler TownshipIts storyC−Indian RiverIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTuscarora Township1 historic placeB

Questions about Ellis Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), 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.