Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1877.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Perry Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Perry Township is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #346 of 701 in Michigan. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Perry 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 Perry Township’s 2.4 sits above most of its state (70% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1893.
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 (±4.2 points).
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Perry Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A post office has been in operation in Perry since 1850. The city was named for Oliver Hazard Perry, an American naval commander in the War of 1812. Perry was incorporated in 1893. Perry is also home to the Calkins-McQueen Museum, a home turned museum listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Calkins-McQueen museum is currently preserved by the Perry Historical Society.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Perry Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1926Corunna 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 Perry Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Perry Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
In 1893, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Perry Township’s post office opened in 1877, and the census of 1880 counted 298 people here.
How does Perry Township rank for history?
Perry Township is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #346 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.
What is on the National Register in Perry Township?
One place: the Horton, William, Farmhouse (listed 1986).
How old are the homes in Perry Township?
13% of Perry Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1984.
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 (8), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.
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