Independence Township’s post office opened in 1837, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 55% of U.S. towns · #324 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of Independence Township was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Its Register listing is the Sashabaw Presbyterian Church. Below: maps from 1943 on.
The Independence Township post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Independence (1837), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 36,686189 years
How historic is Independence Township?
B−
More historic than 55% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Independence Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Independence Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Independence Township is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #324 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 Independence 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 Independence Township’s 0.3 sits near the middle of its state (64% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±1.2 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 Independence Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first settlers arrived in Independence Township in the mid-1820s and early 1830s, primarily from New Jersey and New York. The first settler to purchase and settle land in the township was John W. Beardslee (b. 1799, d. 1883), from Sussex County, New Jersey.
Independence Township was named by one of its earliest settlers, Joseph Van Sycle, who came to the area in 1834 from Independence Township, New Jersey.
While initially the township was primarily agricultural, the many lakes in the area were beginning to draw vacationers out of Detroit and other cities. In 1851, the railroad came through Clarkston, which prompted hotels to be built in the township to accommodate the resort vacationers coming to the area.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Independence Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1943Clarkston 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 Independence Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Independence Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The Independence Township post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Independence Township rank for history?
Independence Township is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #324 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 Independence Township?
One place: the Sashabaw Presbyterian Church (listed 1980).
How old are the homes in Independence Township?
3% of Independence Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1986.
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 (1), 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.
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