Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1888.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Gladwin Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gladwin Township is more historic than 38% 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 Gladwin 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 Gladwin 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 B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.4 points). Two sources give 1875.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Gladwin Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Gladwin county is named for Henry Gladwin, a British military commander at Detroit during Pontiac's War. The county was named in 1831 and organized in 1875.
Gladwin had its beginnings in 1875 during the Michigan lumber boom. Situated on the Cedar River, the city was named Cedar until it was discovered that another Michigan town shared the same name. Thereafter, the city was named after the county. The first church in Gladwin was a Methodist church completed on March 31, 1878. In the Fall of 1878, the first schoolhouse was built by Isaac Hanna, later being replaced by a four-room schoolhouse in 1883. Gladwin was incorporated as a village in 1885.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gladwin Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1969Wagarville 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 Gladwin Township.
People over time
Gladwin Township, census by census
Grew from 903 people in 1890 to 3,069 in 2020, 3 times over.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Gladwin Township’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, McClure, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
McClureWagarville
Gone or out of use
McClure Post Officepost office
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Gladwin Township
McClureRidgeSacred Heart
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.
In 1875, according to Wikidata. Gladwin Township’s post office opened in 1888, and the census of 1890 counted 903 people here.
How does Gladwin Township rank for history?
Gladwin Township is more historic than 38% 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 Gladwin Township?
17% of Gladwin Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (7), Wikipedia, 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.
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