The Overisel Township post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Overisel (1857), Oakland (1889) and Bentheim (1899), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,688 in 19602020 census: 3,133169 years
How historic is Overisel Township?
C+
More historic than 41% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Overisel Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Overisel Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Overisel Township is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #440 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 Overisel 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 Overisel 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 (±5.4 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 Overisel 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
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Overisel
1857–1916
Oakland
1889–1905
Bentheim
1899–1905
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BentheimOaklandOverisel
Gone or out of use
Bentheim Post Officepost officeBusscher Landing StripairportOverisel Post Officepost office
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Overisel Township
BentheimDiamond SpringsNew OveriselOveriselOverisel SettlersVan Dam Family
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Overisel Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Overisel Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Overisel Township is a civil township of Allegan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,113 at the 2020 census. Overisel was named after the Dutch province of Overijssel. Overisel is the birthplace of mathematician George David Birkhoff, best known for what is now called the ergodic theorem.
Its first post office opened in 1857. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,911 to 3,133 (+8%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Overisel Township, 1857 to 1958
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Overisel Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1958Allegan 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 Overisel Township.
People over time
Overisel Township, census by census
Between 1,688 and 3,113 people in every census since 1960.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Overisel Township’s Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Overisel Township post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Overisel Township rank for history?
Overisel Township is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #440 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 Overisel Township?
20% of Overisel Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
2023
