The Maple Grove Township post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Maple Grove (1851), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,599175 years
How historic is Maple Grove Township?
B−
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Maple Grove Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Maple Grove Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Maple Grove Township is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull 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 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 C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.7 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 Maple Grove Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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 Barry County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,599 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Maple Grove is located within the township.
Its first post office opened in 1851. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,593 in 2010, 1,599 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Maple Grove Township, 1851 to 1950
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.
1950Nashville 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.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Maple Grove, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Maple Grove
Gone or out of use
Maple Grove Post Officepost office
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Maple Grove Township
German EvangelicalQuakerUnionWilcox
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Maple Grove Township post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Maple Grove Township rank for history?
Maple Grove Township is more historic than 47% 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.
How old are the homes in Maple Grove Township?
26% of Maple Grove Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 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.
