5 places in town are on the National Register, among them the North Manitou Island Lifesaving Station, a National Historic Landmark, and three historic districts with 22 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1956 on.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1857.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Leland Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Leland Township is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Leland 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 Leland Township’s 132 sits above most of its state (95% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 23 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% 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 (±4.8 points). Two sources give 1853.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Leland 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.
Leland
1857–today
Provemont
1871–1924
North Manitou Island
1895–1950
Leelanau
1905–1909
Lake Leelanau
1924–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Lake LeelanauLelandNorth Manitou
Gone or out of use
Leelanau StationlocaleNorth Manitou Island Post Officepost office
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Leland Township
BeechwoodEast LelandLeland CatholicMongooNorth Manitou Island
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the National Register
5 listings protect 23 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
Leland is built on the site of one of the oldest and largest Ottawa villages on the Leelanau Peninsula. Where the Leland (Carp) River flows into Lake Michigan, there was a natural fish ladder (which was a traditional Native American fishing grounds). The settlement was called Mishi-me-go-bing, meaning "the place where canoes run up into the river to land, because they have no harbor", or alternatively Che-ma-go-bing or Chi-mak-a-ping.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Leland Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1956North Manitou 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 Leland Township.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1853, according to Wikidata. Leland Township’s post office opened in 1857.
How does Leland Township rank for history?
Leland Township is more historic than 75% 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.
What is on the National Register in Leland Township?
5 listings: 1 building, 3 historic districts, the North Manitou Island Lifesaving Station, the Leland Historic District and the Fishtown Historic District, with 22 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 23 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Leland Township?
20% of Leland Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.
★ Landmark
2011
