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C−History
History · Harrisville Township

Harrisville Township dates to 1870

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Harrisville Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: maps from 1959 on and the census since 1880.

1870founded
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Harrisville Township began

When was Harrisville Township founded?

1870

Harrisville Township dates its founding to 1870 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 549 in 18802020 census: 1,307156 years

How historic is Harrisville Township?

C−

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Harrisville Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Harrisville Township is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Harrisville Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19405.5% of homes (±2.8) · 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 23%
NewerOlder

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 Harrisville 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 (±2.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1870.

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 Harrisville 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 Harrisville Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 987 in 1890; 437 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Harrisville Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Harrisville 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
People over time

Harrisville Township, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 987

Peaked at 987 in 1890; 437 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Harrisville Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Harrisville Township.

Read it all →

The place was first known as Davison's Mill after Crosier Davison, who in partnership with Simeon Holden, had purchased land and water power rights here in 1854. Benjamin Harris and his sons, Levi and Henry, of West Bloomfield, New York, bought out the partners. A post office established on September 16, 1857, was named Harrisville, with Levi as the first postmaster.

The Harrises sold out to Weston, (George L.) Colwell & Company, who had H.G. Rothwell plat the community in 1870. Harrisville was incorporated as a village in 1887 and as a city in 1905.

In 1908, the town narrowly survived in the shadow of the Metz Fire, the largest modern forest fire in Michigan. It was the beneficiary of an onshore wind.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Harrisville Township, 1870 to 1959

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870
    FoundingHarrisville Township is established
  3. 1890CensusPopulation peaks at 987
  4. 20th century
  5. 1959On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Harrisville Township, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Harrisville, Michigan intersection2018Harrisville, Michigan intersectionHarrisville, MI (a href="http-bighugelabs.com-onblack.php^id=3703497256^amp,size=large" rel="noreferrer nofollow")View …2009Harrisville, MI (a href="http-bighugelabs.com-onblack…Yellow Butterfly (Papilio glaucus)2007Yellow Butterfly (Papilio glaucus)Monarch Butterfly2007Monarch ButterflyLake State RR2007Lake State RRLake Huron -Copper Inn 022007Lake Huron -Copper Inn 02Lake Huron -Copper Inn 012007Lake Huron -Copper Inn 01Harrisville michigan harbor 012007Harrisville michigan harbor 01Harmony weekend 2007 parade 012007Harmony weekend 2007 parade 01Harmony weekend 2007 craftshow 012007Harmony weekend 2007 craftshow 01Harmony weekend 2007 barbershop 012007Harmony weekend 2007 barbershop 01MIMap-doton-Harrisville2005MIMap-doton-Harrisville
On the map

Harrisville Township on the map, 1959 to 1989

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

Harrisville Township on the 1959 USGS mapHarrisville Township on the 1989 USGS map1959Harrisville 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 Harrisville Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Harrisville Township

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

See all →
Michael Bailey SmithAmerican actor · b. 1957
S
Stanley GrenzAmerican theologian · b. 1950
J. Scott CampbellAmerican comic book artist · b. 1973
Jeff JanisAmerican football player · b. 1991
Donald B. DuncanUnited States admiral · b. 1896
William ComstockAmerican politician · b. 1877
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Springport
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Harrisville Township
Saint AnnesSpringportWestlawn

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.

HarrisvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHaynes Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGustin TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGreenbush TownshipIts storyC−

Questions about Harrisville Township’s history

What year was Harrisville Township founded?

In 1870, according to Wikidata. the census of 1880 counted 549 people here.

How does Harrisville Township rank for history?

Harrisville Township is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns. 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 Harrisville Township?

6% of Harrisville Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1974.

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 (12), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.