The Leighton Township post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Leighton (1854), Corning (1882) and Greenlake (1899), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,951 in 19602020 census: 7,001172 years
How historic is Leighton Township?
C
More historic than 31% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Leighton Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Leighton Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Leighton Township is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #564 of 701 in Michigan. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Leighton 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 Leighton 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 (±5.0 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 Leighton Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Leighton
1854–1869
Corning
1882–1902
Greenlake
1899–1901
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CorningGreen LakeHoliday Gardens Mobile Home ParkHunters Glen Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Corning Post Officepost officeGreenlake Post Officepost officePatterson Pitmine
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Leighton Township
HookerSaint Joseph's Catholic
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Leighton Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Leighton Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Leighton Township is a civil township of Allegan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 7,001 at the 2020 census, up from 4,934 at the 2010 census.
Its first post office opened in 1854. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 4,934 to 7,001 (+42%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Leighton Township, 1854 to 1959
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Leighton Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1959Wayland 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 Leighton Township.
People over time
Leighton Township, census by census
Grew from 1,951 people in 1960 to 7,001 in 2020, 3 times over.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Leighton Township’s Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Leighton Township post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Leighton Township rank for history?
Leighton Township is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #564 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.
How old are the homes in Leighton Township?
11% of Leighton Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 2001.
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, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
