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DHistory
History · Higgins Township

Higgins Township’s post office opened in 1902

More historic than 13% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Higgins Township was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: maps from 1963 on.

1902first post office
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Higgins Township began

When was Higgins Township founded?

1902

The Higgins Township post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Higgins (1902), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 1,864124 years

How historic is Higgins Township?

D

More historic than 13% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Higgins Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Higgins Township is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Higgins Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1902, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19405.2% of homes (±3.2) · 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 13%
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 Higgins 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 D to C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 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 Higgins 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 Higgins Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Higgins Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Higgins 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
The story so far

Higgins Township, in brief

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

Higgins Township is a civil township of Roscommon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,864 at the 2020 census. The village of Roscommon is located within the township.

Its first post office opened in 1902. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,932 to 1,864 (-4%).

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

Timeline

Higgins Township, 1873 to 1963

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Roscommon post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1902Post officeThe Higgins post office opens
  5. 1910Post officeThe Higgins post office closes
  6. 1963On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Higgins Township, decade by decade

Today9 recent
Robinson Creek (Roscommon County, Michigan)2020Robinson Creek (Roscommon County, Michigan)Higgins Township Hall (Michigan)2018Higgins Township Hall (Michigan)Phellinus nigricans (849679)2017Phellinus nigricans (849679)Phellinus nigricans (849678)2017Phellinus nigricans (849678)Phellinus nigricans (849677)2017Phellinus nigricans (849677)Phellinus nigricans (849676)2017Phellinus nigricans (849676)Phellinus nigricans (849674)2017Phellinus nigricans (849674)Phellinus nigricans (849673)2017Phellinus nigricans (849673)HigginsTownshipRoscommonMI2009HigginsTownshipRoscommonMI
On the map

Higgins Township on the map, 1963 to 1983

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

Higgins Township on the 1963 USGS mapHiggins Township on the 1983 USGS map1963Roscommon South sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Higgins Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Higgins Township

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

See all →
Jim HarrisonAmerican poet, novelist, and essayist · b. 1937
Luke JensenUS tennis player · b. 1966
N
Norman Z. McLeodAmerican film director · b. 1895
Alex RoseSamoan athletics competitor · b. 1991
Joy WilliamsAmerican singer · b. 1982
Anthony ZettelAmerican football player · b. 1992
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Another post office, Higgins, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Roscommon
1873–today
Higgins
1902–1910
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Artesia BeachRoscommon
1cemetery inside Higgins Township
Higgins Township

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.

Backus TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAu Sable TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGerrish TownshipIts storyC−Markey TownshipIts storyDRichfield TownshipIts storyDSouth Branch TownshipIts storyC−

Questions about Higgins Township’s history

What year was Higgins Township founded?

The Higgins Township post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Higgins Township rank for history?

Higgins Township is more historic than 13% 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 Higgins Township?

5% of Higgins Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1976.

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 (9), 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.