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C+History
History · Ferris Township

Ferris Township dates to 1857, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 37% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1965 on and the census since 1860.

1857founded
0on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Ferris Township began

When was Ferris Township founded?

1857

Ferris Township dates its founding to 1857 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 184 in 18602020 census: 1,331169 years

How historic is Ferris Township?

C+

More historic than 37% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1858.
History grade

What drives Ferris Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ferris Township is more historic than 37% 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 Ferris Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1857, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194015.6% of homes (±5.9) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical MI town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 37%
NewerOlder

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 Ferris 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 C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.9 points). Two sources give 1857.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Ferris 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 Ferris Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ferris Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Ferris Township, in brief

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

Ferris Township is a civil township of Montcalm County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,331 at the 2020 census. The township was established in 1857.

Ferris Township was established in 1857. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,422 to 1,331 (-6%).

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

Timeline

Ferris Township, 1857 to 1965

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857
    FoundingFerris Township is established
  3. 1858Post officeThe Ferris post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1904Born hereLuke Hamlin is born here
  6. 1907Post officeThe Ferris post office closes
  7. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Ferris Township on the map, 1965 to 1985

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

Ferris Township on the 1965 USGS mapFerris Township on the 1985 USGS map1965Crystal 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 Ferris Township.

People over time

Ferris Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,400190019502000Peak: 1,422

Between 184 and 1,422 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Ferris Township’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

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

2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Ferris Township
Ferris CenterKlees

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.

Day TownshipIts storyBSumner TownshipIts storyB−Richland TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Ferris Township’s history

What year was Ferris Township founded?

In 1857, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Ferris Township’s post office opened in 1858, and the census of 1860 counted 184 people here.

How does Ferris Township rank for history?

Ferris Township is more historic than 37% 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 Ferris Township?

16% of Ferris Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1989.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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).

From Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.