Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1850.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Pipestone Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pipestone Township is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pipestone 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 Pipestone 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 B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.4 points). Two sources give 1842.
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 Pipestone 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
Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Pipestone
1850–1903
Eau Claire
1861–today
Pleasant Valley
1870–1874
Naomi
1884–1903
Pipestone Station
1888–1889
Hartman
1889–1913
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
HartmanNaomiShanghai Corners
Gone or out of use
Hartman Post Officepost officeNaomi Post Officepost officeNaomi StationlocalePipestone Post Officepost officePipestone StationlocalePleasant Valley Post Officepost office
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pipestone Township
Eau ClaireEly GravesFerryShanghaiZion Evangelical
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Pipestone Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pipestone Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
The first settler in the township was James Kirk, who moved with his family to Niles, Michigan, in 1833 and then established a residence in Pipestone in April 1837. In the fall of 1837, Dr. Morgan Enos moved from Bainbridge Township and settled at a point that became known as "Shanghai Corners", because, according to local history, Dr. Enos was the first to bring Shanghai chickens into the township. Joab Enos, a brother of Dr. Enos, moved into the township in 1838. He and William Boughton laid out a village known first as "Pipestone", and later as "Shanghai". Although only a few lots were sold, a post office was established in the village in 1846, and later there was a store operated by John Garrow.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Pipestone Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1927Benton Harbor 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 Pipestone Township.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1842, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Pipestone Township’s post office opened in 1850.
How does Pipestone Township rank for history?
Pipestone Township is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns. 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 Pipestone Township?
20% of Pipestone Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1964.
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.
