The Frankenlust Township post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Frankenlust (1890) and Amelith (1894), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 3,672136 years
How historic is Frankenlust Township?
C+
More historic than 35% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Frankenlust Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Frankenlust Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Frankenlust Township is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #518 of 701 in Michigan. 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 Frankenlust 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 Frankenlust 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 (±7.1 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 Frankenlust Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Frankenlust
1890–1892
Amelith
1894–1901
18901960today
Gone or out of use
Amelith Post Officepost officeFrankenlust Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Frankenlust Township
Saint John LutheranSaint Paul Lutheran
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Frankenlust Township on the map, 1916 to 1973
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Frankenlust Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1916Bay City 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 Frankenlust Township.
The township was founded by German Lutherans. The settlement of Frankenlust began in 1848. Frankenlust was granted a post office that opened on September 23, 1852. The settlement was part of Kochville Township when it was organized in 1856 and thus in Saginaw County. On January 12, 1870, a plat was filed for West Saginaw. In 1880 the county boundary was changed, and Frankenlust Township was organized in Bay County. The Frankenlust Post Office was closed on July 19, 1882, but was reopened on April 1, 1890. On December 15, 1892, the Frankenlust Post Office was closed again. On March 10, 1894, Amelith Post Office was opened at Kraenzlein Road and Kloha Road, but was closed on March 15, 1901.
The Frankenlust Township post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Frankenlust Township rank for history?
Frankenlust Township is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #518 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 Frankenlust Township?
14% of Frankenlust Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 Wikipedia, 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.
