On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hastings Township is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #398 of 701 in Michigan. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hastings 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 Hastings 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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.4 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Hastings Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1836 three entrepreneurs named Dibble, Kingsbury and Kendall bought 480 acres (1.9 km2) along the Thornapple River from Detroit banker Eurotas P. Hastings. The three platted the area into lots, and soon a small community arose. In 1843, the state legislature designated Hastings as the county seat of Barry County. The first paper, the Barry County Pioneer, began publishing in 1851, and a second paper, the Republican Banner, began in 1856. The latter publication, a weekly paper published on Thursdays, continues to be published as the Hastings Banner.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hastings Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1950Nashville 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 Hastings Township.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewMcCann Road Bridge, Spanning Thornapple River at McCann Road
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Hastings Township’s page.
Hastings Township is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #398 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 Hastings Township?
19% of Hastings Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.4 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 Wikimedia Commons (18), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), 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.
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