Founding year: the first Lawton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lawton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lawton is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lawton’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 Lawton’s 14.3 sits above most of its state (85% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±6.0 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 Lawton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Village of Lawton came into existence in 1848. Nathan Lawton who the village is named after, was from Waterford, New York and had purchased property when it became available when Michigan received statehood. Upon the railroad reaching here in 1848, Mr. Lawton donated several acres of land for the construction of a depot that was originally named Paw Paw Station. In 1851 when a post office was being established the name of the town was named for Mr. Lawton. Though Nathan Lawton never lived here two of his sons, George and Charles moved here and made this town their home.
The Lawton post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Lawton rank for history?
Lawton is more historic than 78% 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 Lawton?
33% of Lawton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1966.
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 (2), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia and Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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