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C−History
History · Homestead Township

Homestead Township’s post office opened in 1869

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Homestead Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: maps from 1956 on.

1869first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Homestead Township began

When was Homestead Township founded?

1869

The Homestead Township post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Homestead (1869), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 2,329157 years

How historic is Homestead Township?

C−

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Homestead Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Homestead Township is more historic than 24% 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 Homestead Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1869, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.3% of homes (±3.6) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%C+National 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 24%
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 Homestead 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 is a Census survey estimate (±3.6 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 Homestead 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 Homestead Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Homestead Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Homestead 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

Homestead Township, in brief

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

Homestead Township is a civil township of Benzie County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,329 at the 2020 census. The township is situated in the center of the county. The village of Honor is located within the township on U.S. Highway 31.

Its first post office opened in 1869. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 2,357 in 2010, 2,329 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Homestead Township, 1869 to 1956

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869Post officeThe Homestead post office opens
  3. 1895Post officeThe Honor post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1903Post officeThe Homestead post office closes
  6. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Homestead Township on the map, 1956 to 1983

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

Homestead Township on the 1956 USGS mapHomestead Township on the 1983 USGS map1956Thompsonville 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 Homestead Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Homestead Township

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

See all →
S
Sam SlyfieldSound engineer · b. 1898
P
Paul EdingerPlayer of American football · b. 1978
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Homestead
1869–1903
Honor
1895–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Honor
Gone or out of use
Homestead Post Officepost officeHomestead StationlocaleHonor Stationlocale
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Homestead Township
Champion HillHomesteadMemorial Park

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.

Platte TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWeldon TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townInland TownshipIts storyC−Benzonia Township3 historic placesBAlmira TownshipIts storyC−

Questions about Homestead Township’s history

What year was Homestead Township founded?

The Homestead Township post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Homestead Township rank for history?

Homestead Township is more historic than 24% 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 Homestead Township?

6% of Homestead Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1991.

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 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.