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History · Gourley Township

Gourley Township’s post office opened in 1905, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1963 on.

1905first post office
0on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Gourley Township began

When was Gourley Township founded?

1905

The Gourley Township post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Gourley (1905), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 451121 years
Founding year: the first Gourley Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Gourley 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 Gourley Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Gourley Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gourley 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

Gourley Township, in brief

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

Gourley Township is a civil township of Menominee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 451 at the 2020 census. Gourley Township was established in 1920.

Its first post office opened in 1905. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 420 to 451 (+7%).

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

Timeline

Gourley Township, 1905 to 1963

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1905Post officeThe Gourley post office opens
  3. 1911Post officeThe Gourley post office closes
  4. 1963On 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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Gourley Township on the map, 1963 to 1989

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

Gourley Township on the 1963 USGS mapGourley Township on the 1989 USGS map1963Bark River 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 Gourley Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Gourley Township

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

See all →
Tom BissellAmerican journalist · b. 1974
Roger H. ZionAmerican politician · b. 1921
Albin Walter Norblad Jr.American politician · b. 1908
John F. LueckeAmerican politician · b. 1889
Robert John CornellAmerican priest, professor, and politician · b. 1919
T
Tom CaspersonAmerican politician · b. 1959
Places that used to be

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

Another post office, Gourley, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Gourley
Gone or out of use
Gourley Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Gourley Township
Seventh Day Adventist Church

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.

Harris TownshipIts storyC−Cedarville Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNadeau TownshipIts storyB−Ford River TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Gourley Township’s history

What year was Gourley Township founded?

The Gourley Township post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 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.