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History · Germfask Township

Germfask Township’s post office opened in 1890, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Germfask Township was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Its Register listing is the Ten Curves Road-Manistique River Bridge. Below: maps from 1931 on.

1890first post office
1on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Germfask Township began

When was Germfask Township founded?

1890

The Germfask Township post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 469136 years
Founding year: the first Germfask Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Germfask 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 Germfask Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Germfask Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Germfask 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

Germfask Township, in brief

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

Germfask Township ( JERM-fask) is a civil township of Schoolcraft County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 469 in 2020. The name was derived from the surname initials of eight of the original settlers of 1881: John Grant, Matthew Edge, William Robinson, Thaddeus Mead, Dr. W. W. French, Ezekiel Ackley, Oscar (O.D.) Sheppard, and Hezekiah Knaggs. The community was a station on the Manistique Railway and was given a post office on February 26, 1890.

Its first post office opened in 1890. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 486 to 469 (-3%).

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

Timeline

Germfask Township, 1890 to 1931

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890Post officeThe Germfask post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1923BuiltTen Curves Road-Manistique River Bridge is built
  5. 1931On 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.

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On the map

Germfask Township on the map, 1931 to 1985

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

Germfask Township on the 1931 USGS mapGermfask Township on the 1972 USGS mapGermfask Township on the 1985 USGS map1931Blaney NW sheet · 1:31,680

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Germfask Township.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Germfask Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1999
Ten Curves Road-Manistique River Bridge
Ten Curves Road-Manistique River Bridge, built 1923
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Concrete Through Girder Bridge1
Ten Curves Road-Manistique River BridgeConcrete Through Girder Bridge · Built 1923

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Germfask Township

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

See all →
L
Len St. JeanPlayer of American football · b. 1941
F. Robert EdwardsAmerican politician · b. 1940
Martin R. BradleyAmerican politician · b. 1888
R
Rob RubickPlayer of American football · b. 1960
J
John MillerAmerican author (20th century)
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Germfask
Gone or out of use
Germfask Stationlocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Germfask Township
GermfaskOld Germfask

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.

Doyle TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMueller Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSeney TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLakefield TownshipIts storyCPortage TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Germfask Township’s history

What year was Germfask Township founded?

The Germfask Township post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Germfask Township?

One place: the Ten Curves Road-Manistique River Bridge (listed 1999).

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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.