The Napoleon Township post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Eldred (1889) and Ackerson (1898), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 6,789193 years
How historic is Napoleon Township?
C+
More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Napoleon Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Napoleon Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Napoleon Township is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #414 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Napoleon 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 Napoleon 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 (±3.4 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 Napoleon 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 Napoleon Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Napoleon is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, Napoleon had a population of 1,131. It is located within Napoleon Township.
Its first post office opened in 1833. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 6,776 in 2010, 6,789 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Napoleon Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1935Jackson 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 Napoleon Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Napoleon Township
Nobody well known was born in Napoleon Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Napoleon Township post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Napoleon Township rank for history?
Napoleon Township is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #414 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 Napoleon Township?
7% of Napoleon Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 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.
