The Hazelton Township post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Hazelton (1857) and Judds Corners (1879), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 2,054169 years
How historic is Hazelton Township?
C+
More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Hazelton Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hazelton Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hazelton Township is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns. 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 Hazelton 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 Hazelton 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 B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.3 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 Hazelton 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, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hazelton
1857–1902
New Lothrop
1878–today
Judds Corners
1879–1902
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
JuddvilleNew Lothrop
Gone or out of use
Hazelton Post Officepost officeJudd's Corners Post Officepost officeShiawassee Oil Fieldoilfield
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Hazelton Township
CummingsHazeltonNorth RidgeVietz
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Hazelton Township on the map, 1919 to 1975
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hazelton Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1919Burt 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 Hazelton Township.
Relatives Stanton Latham and E.E. Fowls arrived in the township in 1848.
Hazelton and the settlement were named after brothers George, Edgar and Porter Hazelton, who, with Ezekial Ewing constructed a bridge across the Flint River for the State of Michigan. With no money to pay them in 1849, they received most of the current township land, which they proceeded to sell to settlers.
The Hazelton Township post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Hazelton Township rank for history?
Hazelton Township is more historic than 44% 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 Hazelton Township?
22% of Hazelton Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 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 Wikipedia, 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.
