The Grosse Ile Township post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Grosse Ile (1851), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 10,788175 years
How historic is Grosse Ile Township?
B
More historic than 63% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Grosse Ile Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Grosse Ile Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Grosse Ile Township is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #255 of 701 in Michigan. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Grosse Ile 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 Grosse Ile Township’s 10.6 sits above most of its state (83% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 11 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 points) is firm at this size. 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 Grosse Ile Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Grosse Ile Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1906Wyandotte 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 Grosse Ile Township.
On the National Register
6 historic places in Grosse Ile Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The Potawatomi occupied areas of the island, which they called Kitcheminishen, for a long period prior to European encounter. They were one of the tribes in the Council of Three Fires.
The Grosse Ile Township post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Grosse Ile Township rank for history?
Grosse Ile Township is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #255 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 Grosse Ile Township?
6 listings: 1 building, among them the St. James Episcopal Church (listed 1971, the first), 1 historic district, the East River Road Historic District, with 10 contributing buildings, and 4 structures. 11 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Grosse Ile Township?
13% of Grosse Ile Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
