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BHistory
History · London Township

London Township’s post office opened in 1832, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns · #248 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1850.

1832first post office
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Dwight Burdette · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

How London Township began

When was London Township founded?

1832

The London Township post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, London (1832) and Oakville (1849), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 626 in 18502020 census: 2,984194 years

How historic is London Township?

B

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first London Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives London Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, London Township is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #248 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of London Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1832, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194020.1% of homes (±5.9) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%B+National 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 63%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 65%

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 London 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 B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.9 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 London 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 writtenNo old photos of London Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19024 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1967. Watch London Township change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s London Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsA post office since 1832: 194 years of London Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start London Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

London Township on the map, 1902 to 1967

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

London Township on the 1902 USGS mapLondon Township on the 1936 USGS mapLondon Township on the 1940 USGS mapLondon Township on the 1967 USGS map1902Ypsilanti 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 London Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

London
1832–1905
Oakville
1849–1904
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
LondonOakville
Gone or out of use
Laszlo AirportairportLondon Post Officepost officeOakville Post Officepost office
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside London Township
Blue BushCounty LineLondon TownshipMuehleisen RoadPool

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

London Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of London Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

London Township is a civil township of Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,984 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1832. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 3,048 to 2,984 (-2%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

London Township, 1832 to 1905

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1832Post officeThe London post office opens
  3. 1849Post officeThe Oakville post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1904Post officeThe Oakville post office closes
  7. 1905Post officeThe London post office closes
By decade

London Township, decade by decade

Today12 recent
An examination of the Devonian fishes of Michigan fig-11-full2018An examination of the Devonian fishes of Michigan fig…An examination of the Devonian fishes of Michigan fig-11-a2018An examination of the Devonian fishes of Michigan fig…Old and New Silos in2014Old and New Silos inTree House on Wells Road2012Tree House on Wells RoadSaline River from Bridge on Sherman Road2012Saline River from Bridge on Sherman RoadSaline River from Bridge on Sherman Road, London Township, Michigan - panoramio (1)2012Saline River from Bridge on Sherman Road, London Town…Oakville Greenhouse Oakville Michigan2012Oakville Greenhouse Oakville MichiganJarvis Greenhouse Grames Road2012Jarvis Greenhouse Grames RoadField of Dreams Wedding Chapel Milan Michigan2012Field of Dreams Wedding Chapel Milan MichiganDziedzic Residence, 13418 Sherman Road, London Township (Milan), Michigan2012Dziedzic Residence, 13418 Sherman Road, London Townsh…Creek Viewed from Bridge on Allison Road2012Creek Viewed from Bridge on Allison RoadTuttle hill road london twp. michigan2010Tuttle hill road london twp. michigan
People over time

London Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5001850190019502000Peak: 3,266

Between 626 and 3,266 people in every census since 1850.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Augusta TownshipIts storyCMilan TownshipIts storyB+Exeter TownshipIts storyBDundee Township1 historic placeARaisinville TownshipIts storyB−

Questions about London Township’s history

What year was London Township founded?

The London Township post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does London Township rank for history?

London Township is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #248 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 London Township?

20% of London Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 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 →
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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 (12), 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.