On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Marshall Township is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #124 of 701 in Michigan. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Marshall 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 Marshall Township’s 6.3 sits above most of its state (78% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±6.7 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 Marshall Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Marshall Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1918Battle Creek 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 Marshall Township.
The story so far
Marshall Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Marshall Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Marshall Township is a civil township of Calhoun County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,157 at the 2020 census. The city of Marshall is adjacent to the township, but is administratively autonomous.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 3,115 in 2010, 3,157 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Marshall Township, 1843 to 1918
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Marshall Township is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #124 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.
What is on the National Register in Marshall Township?
2 listings: 1 building, among them the Isaac Lockwood House (listed 1994, the first).
How old are the homes in Marshall Township?
20% of Marshall 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 1969.
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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.