Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Dwight Burdette · CC BY 3.0Most of Novi Township was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1965. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1970.
Novi Township dates its founding to 1832 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1970.
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 Novi Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Novi Township.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archiveSaratoga Farms, Novi, Michigan (83497)
In the archiveNovi (vicinity), Michigan. Gravel pitFrom Wikipedia’s history of Novi Township.
Novi was organized as a township in 1832, on land taken from Farmington Township. The name Novi was offered by resident Dr. J. C. Emery, at the suggestion of his wife. Residents were reportedly looking for a shorter name than Farmington.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Novi Township’s page.
Retake this view · +15Grew from 9,668 people in 1970 to 66,243 in 2020, 6 times over.
6 censuses, 1970–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Novi Township’s Wikipedia page.
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
In 1832, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1970 counted 9,668 people here.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (5), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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