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B−History
History · Grand Blanc Township

Grand Blanc Township dates to 1823, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns · #343 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Most of Grand Blanc Township was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Its Register listing is the First Baptist Church of Grand Blanc. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1920 on, and the census since 1880.

1823founded
1on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Grand Blanc Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Grand Blanc Township began

When was Grand Blanc Township founded?

1823

Grand Blanc Township dates its founding to 1823 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 216 in 18802020 census: 39,846203 years

How historic is Grand Blanc Township?

B−

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1873.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Grand Blanc Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Grand Blanc Township is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #343 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Grand Blanc Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1823, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19402.2% of homes (±1.0) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 0.3 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 52%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 51%

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 Grand Blanc Township’s 0.3 sits near the middle of its state (63% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1823.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size.

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 Grand Blanc 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 writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Grand Blanc Township, and 5 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19204 editions of the USGS map, 1920 to 1975. Watch Grand Blanc Township change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1823: 203 years of Grand Blanc Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Grand Blanc Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Grand Blanc Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPresident and Mrs. Bush depart Grand Bl…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Another post office, South Grand Blanc, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Chateau of Grand Blanc Mobile Home ParkHi-Way Trailer CourtPark Meadow Estates Mobile Home ParkTudor Estates Mobile Home ParkWhigville
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Grand Blanc Township
Crestwood MemorialEvergreenMapleOakwoodPerry - McFarlenSouth Grand Blanc

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the map

Grand Blanc Township on the map, 1920 to 1975

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

Grand Blanc Township on the 1920 USGS mapGrand Blanc Township on the 1943 USGS mapGrand Blanc Township on the 1969 USGS mapGrand Blanc Township on the 1975 USGS map1920Holly 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 Grand Blanc Township.

The story

How Grand Blanc Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Grand Blanc Township.

Read it all →

The unincorporated village of Grand Blanc, or Grumlaw, was a former Indian campground first settled by Jacob Stevens in 1822. Several years later, settlers improved the Indian trail to Saginaw; they laid out and staked it in 1829 as Saginaw Road. Grand Blanc Township formed in 1833 in an area that became the city. The township center began to boom in 1864 with the arrival of the railroad (now known as the CSX Saginaw Subdivision). With the post office there, the village was called Grand Blanc Centre by 1873, with the former Grand Blanc assuming the name Gibsonville.

ChaptersCity

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Grand Blanc Township, 1823 to 1992

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1823
    FoundingGrand Blanc Township is established
  3. 1873Post officeThe South Grand Blanc post office opens
  4. 1885Post officeThe South Grand Blanc post office closes
  5. 1899In the archiveAtlas of Genesee County, Michigan - containing maps of every township in the county, with…
  6. 20th century
  7. 1920On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1992In the archivePresident and Mrs. Bush depart Grand Blanc, Michigan, enroute to the White House after th…
By decade

Grand Blanc Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s1 item
Atlas of Genesee County, Michigan - containing maps of every township in the county, with village and city plats, also …1899Atlas of Genesee County, Michigan - containing maps o…Map
1900s–1980snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1990s1 item
President and Mrs. Bush depart Grand Blanc, Michigan, enroute to the White House after their whistle stop campaign trip…1992President and Mrs. Bush depart Grand Blanc, Michigan,…
Today8 recent
Grand Blanc McFarlen Branch2023Grand Blanc McFarlen BranchGrand Blanc Water Tower2020Grand Blanc Water TowerGrand Blanc, MI location2019Grand Blanc, MI locationIntersection of Saginaw Rd and Hill Rd in2018Intersection of Saginaw Rd and Hill Rd inWilliam Ray Perry House2015William Ray Perry HouseCongregational Church2015Congregational ChurchFirst Baptist Church2014First Baptist ChurchGrand-blanc-high-schooljpg-a01c2b9d717d16542012Grand-blanc-high-schooljpg-a01c2b9d717d1654
On the National Register

1 historic place in Grand Blanc 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
1983
First Baptist Church of Grand Blanc
First Baptist Church of Grand Blanc
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
First Baptist Church of Grand BlancGreek Revival

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

People over time

Grand Blanc Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 8,276

Between 216 and 8,276 people in every census since 1880.

11 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Grand Blanc Township’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Atlas Township2 historic placesA−Holly Township3 historic placesB+Mundy Township1 historic placeBBurtonIts storyB−

Questions about Grand Blanc Township’s history

What year was Grand Blanc Township founded?

In 1823, according to Wikidata. Grand Blanc Township’s post office opened in 1873, and the census of 1880 counted 216 people here.

How does Grand Blanc Township rank for history?

Grand Blanc Township is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #343 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.

What is on the National Register in Grand Blanc Township?

One place: the First Baptist Church of Grand Blanc (listed 1983).

How old are the homes in Grand Blanc Township?

2% of Grand Blanc Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1983.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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).

From Wikimedia Commons (10), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.