Highland Township’s post office opened in 1835, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 65% of U.S. towns · #234 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of Highland Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Its Register listings are the Rowe House and the Highland United Methodist Church. Below: maps from 1909 on.
The Highland Township post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name. Five smaller post offices, Spring Mills (1857), Clyde (1872) and Highland Station (1873), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 19,172191 years
How historic is Highland Township?
B+
More historic than 65% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Highland Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Highland Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Highland Township is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #234 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Highland 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 Highland Township’s 1.0 sits above most of its state (66% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.0 points) is firm at this size. 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 Highland Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Highland Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1909Milford 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 Highland Township.
The story so far
Highland Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Highland Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Highland Township, officially the Charter Township of Highland, is a charter township of west Oakland County, Michigan. The population was 19,172 at the time of the 2020 census. Highland Township is a western suburb of Metro Detroit and is located about 18 miles (29.0 km) west of the city of Pontiac and about 45 miles (72.4 km) northwest of the city of Detroit. Highland Township was founded by pioneer families in 1835. A major factor in the development of Highland was the railroad, which allowed lumber to be transported cheaply, and allowed products from the township's early factories to be exported easily. In 2003, in an effort to retain its rural character, as well as preserve its extensi…
Its first post office opened in 1835. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 19,202 in 2010, 19,172 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Highland Township, 1835 to 1988
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Highland Township post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Highland Township rank for history?
Highland Township is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #234 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.
What is on the National Register in Highland Township?
Two places: the Rowe House (listed 1975) and the Highland United Methodist Church (1981).
How old are the homes in Highland Township?
7% of Highland Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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