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BHistory
History · Leslie Township

Leslie Township dates to 1836, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1919 on, and the census since 1880.

1836founded
0on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Leslie Township began

When was Leslie Township founded?

1836

Leslie Township dates its founding to 1836 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 1,113 in 18802020 census: 2,305190 years

How historic is Leslie Township?

B

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1862.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Leslie Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Leslie Township is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Leslie Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1836, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194015.9% of homes (±5.6) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%BNational 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 58%
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 Leslie 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.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1836.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.6 points).

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Leslie 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 writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19193 editions of the USGS map, 1919 to 1970. Watch Leslie Township change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1836: 190 years of Leslie Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Leslie Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Leslie Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Leslie Township on the map, 1919 to 1970

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

Leslie Township on the 1919 USGS mapLeslie Township on the 1921 USGS mapLeslie Township on the 1970 USGS map1919Rives Junction 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 Leslie Township.

Timeline

Leslie Township, 1836 to 1919

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1836
    FoundingLeslie Township is established
  3. 1862Post officeThe North Leslie post office opens
  4. 1866Post officeThe North Leslie post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1919On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Leslie Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Leslie Township.

Read it all →

Leslie was first settled by Elijah Woodworth in 1836, who built the first log cabin in the city. It was originally named Meekerville after a pioneer to the area, Benjamin Meeker. Jerry G. Cornell named the town after a prominent Leslie family in eastern New York, his home state. The name Leslie was adopted officially when a post office was assigned to the area in 1841. Leslie was later incorporated as a village in 1869, and as a city nearly 100 years later in 1968.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Leslie Township, decade by decade

Date unknown2 to date
History of the early life and business interests of the village and township ofDate?History of the early life and business interests of t…BookHistory of the early life and business interests of the village and township ofDate?History of the early life and business interests of t…Book
Today7 recent
Leslie Michigan2018Leslie MichiganSts Cornelius and Cyprian School2016Sts Cornelius and Cyprian SchoolSts Cornelius and Cyprian Church2016Sts Cornelius and Cyprian ChurchUnion Hall2014Union HallFirst Baptist Church2014First Baptist ChurchOld G.A.R. hall2009Old G.A.R. hallMIMap-doton-Leslie2005MIMap-doton-Leslie
People over time

Leslie Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,110

Between 1,032 and 2,110 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Leslie Township’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
North Leslie
Gone or out of use
North Leslie Post Officepost office

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.

Bunker Hill TownshipIts storyBVevay TownshipIts storyB−Onondaga TownshipIts storyB−Rives TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Leslie Township’s history

What year was Leslie Township founded?

In 1836, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Leslie Township’s post office opened in 1862, and the census of 1880 counted 1,113 people here.

How does Leslie Township rank for history?

Leslie Township is more historic than 58% 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 Leslie Township?

16% of Leslie Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1973.

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 Wikimedia Commons (9), Wikipedia, 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.