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History · Portage Township

Half of Portage Township’s homes were built after 1982

Most of Portage Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: maps from 1931 on.

0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Portage Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Portage Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Portage Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Portage Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Portage Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Portage Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Portage Township is a civil township of Mackinac County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, its population was 907, down from 981 in 2010.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 981 to 907 (-8%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Portage Township, 1905 to 1931

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1905Post officeThe Curtis post office opens
  3. 1907Post officeThe Diller post office opens
  4. 1907Post officeThe Diller post office closes
  5. 1931On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

Portage Township on the map, 1931 to 1985

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Portage Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Portage Township on the 1931 USGS mapPortage Township on the 1972 USGS mapPortage Township on the 1985 USGS map1931Blaney NE sheet · 1:31,680

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Portage Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Portage Township

Nobody well known was born in Portage Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
L
Len St. JeanPlayer of American football · b. 1941
F. Robert EdwardsAmerican politician · b. 1940
Martin R. BradleyAmerican politician · b. 1888
R
Rob RubickPlayer of American football · b. 1960
J
John MillerAmerican author (20th century)
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Diller, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Curtis
1905–today
Diller
1907–1907
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Curtis
Gone or out of use
Diller Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Portage Township
CurtisSandtown

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Garfield Township2 historic placesB+Newton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLakefield TownshipIts storyCGermfask Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Portage Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From 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.