The Flowerfield Township post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name. Four smaller post offices, Flowerfield (1832), Howardsville (1858) and Chamberlain (1872), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,587194 years
How historic is Flowerfield Township?
B+
More historic than 65% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Flowerfield Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Flowerfield Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Flowerfield Township is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Flowerfield 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 Flowerfield 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 B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.0 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 Flowerfield Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Flowerfield Township on the map, 1922 to 1973
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Flowerfield Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1922Schoolcraft 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 Flowerfield Township.
The story so far
Flowerfield Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Flowerfield Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Flowerfield Township is a civil township of St. Joseph County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,587 at the 2020 census.
Its first post office opened in 1832. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,562 in 2010, 1,587 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Flowerfield Township, 1832 to 1936
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Flowerfield Township post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Flowerfield Township rank for history?
Flowerfield Township is more historic than 65% 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 Flowerfield Township?
22% of Flowerfield Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1984.
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.
