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B+History
History · Fillmore Township

Fillmore Township dates to 1849, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns · #229 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Below: maps from 1928 on and the census since 1960.

1849founded
0on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Fillmore Township began

When was Fillmore Township founded?

1849

Fillmore Township dates its founding to 1849 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1960.

First census: 1,877 in 19602020 census: 2,778177 years

How historic is Fillmore Township?

B+

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1866.
History grade

What drives Fillmore Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fillmore Township is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #229 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fillmore Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1849, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194023.0% of homes (±6.3) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%B+National 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 66%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 67%

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 Fillmore 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.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1849.
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 (±6.3 points).

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 Fillmore 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 Fillmore Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Fillmore Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1849: 177 years of Fillmore Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Fillmore Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Fillmore 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
Places that used to be

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

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Graafschap
1866–1909
Fillmore Centre
1873–1894
Fillmore Center
1894–1916
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Country Acres Mobile Home ParkFillmoreGraafschap
Gone or out of use
BoydlocaleFillmore Center Post Officepost officeGraafschap Post Officepost officeOverisel Oil FieldoilfieldPhil's Field Airportairport
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Fillmore Township
East HollandEast SaugatuckMemorial

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

Timeline

Fillmore Township, 1849 to 1928

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1849
    FoundingFillmore Township is established
  3. 1866Post officeThe Graafschap post office opens
  4. 1873Post officeThe Fillmore Centre post office opens
  5. 1894Post officeThe Fillmore Centre post office closes
  6. 1894Post officeThe Fillmore Center post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1909Post officeThe Graafschap post office closes
  9. 1916Post officeThe Fillmore Center post office closes
  10. 1928On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story so far

Fillmore Township, in brief

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

Fillmore Township is a civil township of Allegan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,778 at the 2020 census. It was established in 1849 by a division of Manlius Township. The city of Holland is at the northwest corner of the township.

Fillmore Township was established in 1849. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,681 to 2,778 (+4%).

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

By decade

Fillmore Township, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Fillmore Township, Michigan 20232023Fillmore Township, Michigan 2023P371-15 East Saugatuck2010P371-15 East Saugatuck
On the map

Fillmore Township on the map, 1928 to 1981

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

Fillmore Township on the 1928 USGS mapFillmore Township on the 1931 USGS mapFillmore Township on the 1981 USGS map1928Fennville 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 Fillmore Township.

People over time

Fillmore Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0001960198020002020Peak: 2,778

Between 1,877 and 2,778 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Fillmore Township

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

See all →
Betsy DeVosAmerican politician and philanthropist · b. 1958
George David BirkhoffAmerican mathematician · b. 1884
Erik PrinceAmerican businessman, former US Navy SEAL offic… · b. 1969
Kennedy McMannAmerican actress · b. 1996
P
Paul de KruifAmerican microbiologist · b. 1890
L
Lane HutsonAmerican ice hockey player · b. 2004
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Holland11 historic placesAManlius Township1 historic placeB+Overisel TownshipIts storyC+Laketown Township1 historic placeBHolland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Fillmore Township’s history

What year was Fillmore Township founded?

In 1849, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Fillmore Township’s post office opened in 1866, and the census of 1960 counted 1,877 people here.

How does Fillmore Township rank for history?

Fillmore Township is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #229 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.

How old are the homes in Fillmore Township?

23% of Fillmore Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1980.

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 Wikimedia Commons (2), 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.