From Handy Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Handy Township began
When was Handy Township founded?
1850
The Handy Township post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Cedar (1838) and Handy (1850), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 8,602176 years
How historic is Handy Township?
C
More historic than 32% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Handy Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Handy Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Handy Township is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #549 of 701 in Michigan. 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 Handy 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 Handy 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 is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 points). 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 Handy Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Cedar
1838–1853
Handy
1850–1855
Fowlerville
1853–today
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Alan's Mobile Home ParkCedar River Estates Mobile Home ParkFowlervilleGrand Shire Estates Mobile Home Park
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Handy Township
BriggsCoffeyGreenwoodMount OlivetPaige
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Handy Township on the map, 1908 to 1973
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Handy Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1908Fowlerville 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 Handy Township.
The story so far
Handy Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Handy Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Handy Township is a civil township of Livingston County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,602 at the time of the 2020 census, up from 8,006 at the 2000 census. The village of Fowlerville is located within the township.
Its first post office opened in 1850. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 8,006 to 8,602 (+7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Handy Township, 1838 to 1908
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The Handy Township post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Handy Township rank for history?
Handy Township is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #549 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 Handy Township?
12% of Handy Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1991.
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 (4), 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.
Date?
2016
2012
