The Onondaga Township post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Winfield (1862), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 2,997188 years
How historic is Onondaga Township?
B−
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Onondaga Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Onondaga Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Onondaga Township is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #392 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Onondaga 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 Onondaga 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 (±4.3 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 Onondaga Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Winfield, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Onondaga
1838–today
Winfield
1862–1903
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Country Manor Mobile Home ParkKinnevilleOnondaga
Gone or out of use
Onondaga StationlocaleWilliams AirportairportWinfield Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Onondaga Township
LaneOnondaga
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Onondaga Township on the map, 1919 to 1981
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Onondaga Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1919Springport 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 Onondaga Township.
European-American settlement began in the mid-19th century, with most migrants coming from New England and New York. The township and community were named after the Haudenosaunee nation of Onondaga, historically based in New York.
A post office was first established at the place about 1844, with Perez Howland as the first postmaster. In 1847, Perez Howland built a grocery. A post office was operated from the grocery. Cyrus Baldwin subsequently purchased the building and converted it into the "Onondaga Hotel".
The Onondaga Township post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Onondaga Township rank for history?
Onondaga Township is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #392 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 Onondaga Township?
8% of Onondaga Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1994.
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.
