Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 33% of U.S. towns · #539 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of Lyon Township was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. Below: maps from 1902 on.
The Lyon Township post office opened in 1834, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Lyon (1834) and Kensington (1836), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
More historic than 33% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lyon Township is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #539 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls 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 Lyon 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 Lyon Township’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lyon 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 Lyon Township.
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).
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lyon Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Lyon Charter Township is a charter township of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 23,271 at the 2020 census.
Its first post office opened in 1834. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 14,545 to 23,271 (+60%).
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.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
2012Tree-Lined Chubb Road Lyon Township Michigan
2012Farm Animals Posing for a Group Portrait Lyon Townshi…
2012Eagle Chainsaw Carving, 27900 Pontiac Trail, Lyon Tow…
2012Church of Christ, 21860 Pontiac Trail, Lyon Township,…
2012Casterline Funeral Home, 59255 Ten Mile Road, Lyon To…
2010Lyon Township Oakland County Michigan Fire Station nu…
2010Lyon Township Municipal Center Oakland County MichiganNobody well known was born in Lyon Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Lyon Township post office opened in 1834, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Lyon Township is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #539 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.
1% of Lyon Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 2003.
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 (7), 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.
