On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Maple Grove Township is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Maple Grove Township’s overall grade.
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 Maple Grove Township’s 6.4 sits above most of its state (78% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.3 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Maple Grove Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Tanner
1889–1907
Crossing
1895–1900
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Kaleva
Gone or out of use
Horaks AirportairportKaleva StationlocaleTanner Post Officepost officeTanner Stationlocale
1cemetery inside Maple Grove Township
Maple Grove Township
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Maple Grove Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Maple Grove Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Maple Grove Township is a civil township of Manistee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,342 at the 2020 census. The township is home to the village of Kaleva.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,316 in 2010, 1,342 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Maple Grove Township, 1889 to 1957
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Maple Grove Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1957Copemish 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 Maple Grove Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Maple Grove Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Maple Grove Township is more historic than 60% 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.
What is on the National Register in Maple Grove Township?
One place: the Makinen, John J., Bottle House (listed 1987).
How old are the homes in Maple Grove Township?
10% of Maple Grove Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
