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C−History
History · Hamburg Township

Hamburg Township’s post office opened in 1852

More historic than 22% of U.S. towns · #625 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Most of Hamburg Township was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1902 on.

1852first post office
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Hamburg Township began

When was Hamburg Township founded?

1852

The Hamburg Township post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name. Six smaller post offices, Hamburgh (1837), Livingston (1840) and Hamburg (1852), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 21,259174 years

How historic is Hamburg Township?

C−

More historic than 22% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Hamburg Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Hamburg Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hamburg Township is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #625 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hamburg Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1852, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19404.6% of homes (±1.4) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical MI town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 22%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 11%

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 Hamburg 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 C. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 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 Hamburg Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages6 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Hamburg Township, and 5 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19025 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1996. Watch Hamburg Township change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

Six other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamburgh
1837–1861
Livingston
1840–1852
Hamburg
1852–1894
North Hamburgh
1852–1854
Hamburgh Village
1854–1861
Pettysville
1870–1901
Lakeland
1903–today
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
HamburgHamburg Hills Estates Mobile Home ParkLakelandParishfieldPettysville
Gone or out of use
Hamburg StationlocaleLakeland Post Officepost officePettysville Post Officepost office
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Hamburg Township
CampbellHamburgNorth HamburgPlaceway

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

Help out

Start Hamburg Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Hamburg Township on the map, 1902 to 1996

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

Hamburg Township on the 1902 USGS mapHamburg Township on the 1965 USGS mapHamburg Township on the 1975 USGS mapHamburg Township on the 1983 USGS mapHamburg Township on the 1996 USGS map1902Dexter 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 Hamburg Township.

The story so far

Hamburg Township, in brief

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

Hamburg Township is a civil township of Livingston County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 21,259. It is the most populated municipality in Livingston County.

Its first post office opened in 1852. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 21,165 in 2010, 21,259 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Hamburg Township, 1837 to 1902

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837Post officeThe Hamburgh post office opens
  3. 1840Post officeThe Livingston post office opens
  4. 1852Post officeThe Livingston post office closes
  5. 1852Post officeThe Hamburg post office opens
  6. 1861Post officeThe Hamburgh post office closes
  7. 1869Born hereEdwin Baruch Winans Jr. is born here
  8. 1894Post officeThe Hamburg post office closes
  9. 1895In the archiveStandard atlas of Livingston County, Michigan - including a plat book of the villages, ci…
  10. 20th century
  11. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Hamburg Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s1 item
Standard atlas of Livingston County, Michigan - including a plat book of the villages, cities and townships of the coun…1895Standard atlas of Livingston County, Michigan - inclu…Map
1900s–1990snothing 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
Today23 recent
Hamburg, Michigan (July 2023)2023Hamburg, Michigan (July 2023)Hamburg, MI road signage2023Hamburg, MI road signageHamburg, MI post office2023Hamburg, MI post officeZukey Lake Tavern in Hamburg Township, Michigan (5570)2016Zukey Lake Tavern in Hamburg Township, Michigan (5570)US Post Office, 7424 East M-362012US Post Office, 7424 East M-36Swans on a Pond Hamburg Township Michigan2012Swans on a Pond Hamburg Township MichiganManly Bennett Airport Hamburg Township Michigan2012Manly Bennett Airport Hamburg Township MichiganJohn's Johns2012John's JohnsHuron River Viewed from Bridge on Hamburg Road Genoa Township Michigan2012Huron River Viewed from Bridge on Hamburg Road Genoa …Horsehoe Creek2012Horsehoe CreekHamburg Township Michigan Fire Station2012Hamburg Township Michigan Fire StationHamburg Historical Museum Hamburg Village Michigan2012Hamburg Historical Museum Hamburg Village MichiganDitch Witch JT1220 Horizontal Directional Drill2012Ditch Witch JT1220 Horizontal Directional DrillSaint Stephen's Episcopal Church2011Saint Stephen's Episcopal ChurchHamburg Cemetery, Hamburg Road ^ Strawberry Lake Road2011Hamburg Cemetery, Hamburg Road ^ Strawberry Lake RoadFormer fire station, 10576 Hamburg Road, Hamburg Township, Michigan2011Former fire station, 10576 Hamburg Road, Hamburg Town…Edwin B.Winan's historical marker2011Edwin B.Winan's historical markerPrairie Farms Dairy delivery truck2010Prairie Farms Dairy delivery truckMeals on Wheels HotShot2010Meals on Wheels HotShotM-36 Michigan Highway2010M-36 Michigan HighwayHamburg Township Michigan former Fire Station2010Hamburg Township Michigan former Fire StationHamburg Township Michigan Township Hall2010Hamburg Township Michigan Township HallHamburg Township Michigan Fire Station -122010Hamburg Township Michigan Fire Station -12
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Green Oak Township2 historic placesBGenoa Township3 historic placesB+Putnam TownshipIts storyC−Webster Township1 historic placeB+Brighton1 historic placeB

Questions about Hamburg Township’s history

What year was Hamburg Township founded?

The Hamburg Township post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Hamburg Township rank for history?

Hamburg Township is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #625 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.

How old are the homes in Hamburg Township?

5% of Hamburg Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1991.

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 (24), 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.