Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns · #358 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of Lima Township was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1902 on.
The Lima Township post office opened in 1834, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Mill Creek (1833) and Lima (1834), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lima Township is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #358 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Lima 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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lima Township’s history is told.
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lima Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lima Township.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lima Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Lima Township is a civil township of Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,024 at the 2020 census.
Its first post office opened in 1834. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,307 to 4,024 (+22%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereWilliam Wedemeyer is born here
In the archiveStandard atlas of Washtenaw County, Michigan - including a plat book of the villages, cit…
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyOne decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
2019Lima Township, MI location
2012Two Deer in a Wooded Area Lima Township Michigan
2012Swans on a Pond Lima Township Michigan
2012Rural Temptress Bradbury Farm Lima Township Michigan
2012Hilltop Greenhouse & Farms Lima Township Michigan
2012Ebony and Ivory Lima Township Michigan
2012Deer in a Soybean Field Lima Township Michigan
2010Lima Township White Farm on Haist Road
2010Lima Township Stivers Restaurant
2010Lima Township Hall
2010Lima Township An Arbor Moose LodgeEach neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Lima Township post office opened in 1834, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Lima Township is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #358 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.
10% of Lima 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 1992.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (12), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
