The Monitor Township post office opened in 1894, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Monitor (1894) and Colfax (1897), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 10,687132 years
How historic is Monitor Township?
C
More historic than 29% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Monitor Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Monitor Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Monitor Township is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #577 of 701 in Michigan. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Monitor 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 Monitor 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 still be C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.6 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 Monitor Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Kawkawlin Post Office opened on March 6, 1868 in Kawkawlin and has been in operation ever since.
On January 16, 1897, A post office, Colfax Post Office, opened in the township at Mackinaw Road and Salzburg Road. On May 15, 1900, the Colfax Post Office was closed down for the first time. The Post Office name Colfax was reopened on May 29, 1900 and lasting until May 15, 1901.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Monitor Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1967Bay City sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Monitor Township.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Monitor Township post office opened in 1894, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Monitor Township rank for history?
Monitor Township is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #577 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.
How old are the homes in Monitor Township?
9% of Monitor Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 Wikipedia, 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.
