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History · Mansfield Township

Mansfield Township’s post office opened in 1891, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Mansfield Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 18 buildings. Below: 12 old photos and papers and maps from 1899 on.

1891first post office
2on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mansfield Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Mansfield Township began

When was Mansfield Township founded?

1891

The Mansfield Township post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Mansfield (1891) and Maywood (1900), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 236135 years
Founding year: the first Mansfield Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Mansfield Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

On the map since 18994 editions of the USGS map, 1899 to 1975. Watch Mansfield Township change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Mansfield Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers.
★ What stands out · On the map

Mansfield Township on the map, 1899 to 1975

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

Mansfield Township on the 1899 USGS mapMansfield Township on the 1947 USGS mapMansfield Township on the 1956 USGS mapMansfield Township on the 1975 USGS map1899Sagola 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 Mansfield Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

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

Mansfield
1891–1913
Maywood
1900–1903
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
KiernanMansfieldMansfield Location
Gone or out of use
Mansfield Post Officepost officeMaywood Post Officepost office

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

By decade

Mansfield Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s12 items
Resident of Mansfield, Michigan, an abandoned mining town1937Resident of Mansfield, Michigan, an abandoned mining …Mr. Henrickson, resident of Mansfield, Michigan, once a prosperous mining town1937Mr. Henrickson, resident of Mansfield, Michigan, once…An old slot machine in an abandoned saloon at Mansfield, Michigan1937An old slot machine in an abandoned saloon at Mansfie…An abandoned house1937An abandoned houseHerman Perry, old miner of Mansfield, Michigan, a former mining town1937Herman Perry, old miner of Mansfield, Michigan, a for…Working in the field of a cut-over farm near Mansfield, Michigan1937Working in the field of a cut-over farm near Mansfiel…Abandoned "temperance hall" in the formerly prosperous mining community of Mansfield, Michigan1937Abandoned "temperance hall" in the formerly prosperou…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Resident of Mansfield, Michigan, an abandoned mining town1937Untitled photo, possibly related to: Resident of Mans…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Resident of Mansfield, Michigan, an abandoned mining town1937Untitled photo, possibly related to: Resident of Mans…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Resident of Mansfield, Michigan, an abandoned mining town1937Untitled photo, possibly related to: Resident of Mans…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Resident of Mansfield, Michigan, an abandoned mining town1937Untitled photo, possibly related to: Resident of Mans…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Resident of Mansfield, Michigan, an abandoned mining town1937Untitled photo, possibly related to: Resident of Mans…
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
The story so far

Mansfield Township, in brief

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

Mansfield Township is a civil township of Iron County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 243 at the 2000 census and 236 in 2020.

Its first post office opened in 1891. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 241 to 236 (-2%).

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

Timeline

Mansfield Township, 1891 to 1937

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891Post officeThe Mansfield post office opens
  3. 1899On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900Post officeThe Maywood post office opens
  6. 1903Post officeThe Maywood post office closes
  7. 1913Post officeThe Mansfield post office closes
  8. 1937In the archiveResident of Mansfield, Michigan, an abandoned mining town
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Resident of Mansfield, Michigan, an abandoned mining town
Retake this viewResident of Mansfield, Michigan, an abandoned mining town, 1937

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Mansfield Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 listings protect 18 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
18
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Mansfield Mine Location Historic District
Mansfield Mine Location Historic DistrictMansfield Road-Michigamme River Bridge
DistrictsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Concrete Filled Spandrel Arch Bridge1
All 2 listings
Mansfield Mine Location Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1983Mansfield Road-Michigamme River BridgeStructure · listed 1999

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Mansfield Township

Nobody well known was born in Mansfield Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Robert J. FlahertyAmerican documentary filmmaker · b. 1884
Delaney SchnellAmerican diver · b. 1998
Nick BaumgartnerAmerican snowboarder · b. 1981
Dan BenishekAmerican politician · b. 1952
N
Nita EnglundAmerican ski jumper · b. 1992
A
Anna DeForgeAmerican basketball player · b. 1976
Help out

Finish Mansfield Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewResident of Mansfield, Michigan, an aba…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Crystal Falls Township2 historic placesB+Sagola Township1 historic placeB−Mastodon Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRepublic Township1 historic placeB+

Questions about Mansfield Township’s history

What year was Mansfield Township founded?

The Mansfield Township post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Mansfield Township?

Two places: the Mansfield Mine Location Historic District (listed 1983) and the Mansfield Road-Michigamme River Bridge (1999).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From the Library of Congress (12), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.