Pittsfield Township dates to 1834, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 59% of U.S. towns · #290 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of Pittsfield Township was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 6 buildings. Below: maps from 1902 on.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1836.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Pittsfield Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pittsfield Township is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #290 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pittsfield 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 Pittsfield Township’s 1.5 sits above most of its state (67% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1834.
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 Pittsfield Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Pittsfield Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1902Ypsilanti 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 Pittsfield Township.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Pittsfield, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Arbor Meadows Mobile Home ParkCoachville Mobile ParkPittsfieldSaline Meadows Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Pittsfield Post Officepost officePittsfield Stationlocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pittsfield Township
CrittendenHarwood
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
When Ann Arbor Township was organized in 1827 it included what is now Pittsfield Township in its boundaries. The township was organized as the Township of Pitt in 1834. The name had been suggested by Ezra Carpenter. The current name was adopted in 1839. It became a charter township in 1972.
In 2006 the Ann Arbor District Library opened its Pittsfield branch.
In 1834, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Pittsfield Township’s post office opened in 1836.
How does Pittsfield Township rank for history?
Pittsfield Township is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #290 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 Pittsfield Township?
One place: the Landgford and Lydia McMichael Sutherland Farmstead (listed 2006).
How old are the homes in Pittsfield Township?
3% of Pittsfield Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
