More historic than 48% of U.S. towns · #383 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of Pavilion Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1918 on.
The Pavilion Township post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Pavilion (1838), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 6,387188 years
How historic is Pavilion Township?
B−
More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Pavilion Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Pavilion Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pavilion Township is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #383 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 Pavilion 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 Pavilion 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 (±3.9 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 Pavilion 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, Pavilion, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Collins CornerCooks MillPavilionPavillion CenterPavillion Estates Mobile Home ParkPomeroyScotts
Gone or out of use
Pavilion Post Officepost office
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pavilion Township
BoughtonCookMcKainSand LakeWolcott
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Pavilion Township on the map, 1918 to 1950
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Pavilion Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1918Leonidas 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 Pavilion Township.
The story so far
Pavilion Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Pavilion Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Pavilion Charter Township is a charter township of Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,387 at the 2020 census, up from 6,222 at the 2010 census. It contains part of the census-designated place of Scotts, which it shares with Climax Township.
Its first post office opened in 1838. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 6,222 to 6,387 (+3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Pavilion Township, 1838 to 1928
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Pavilion Township post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Pavilion Township rank for history?
Pavilion Township is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #383 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 Pavilion Township?
8% of Pavilion Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (2), 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.
2023
