Redford Township’s post office opened in 1833, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #288 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of Redford Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1955. Its Register listing is the Redford Township District No. 5 School. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1930.
From Redford Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Redford Township began
When was Redford Township founded?
1833
The Redford Township post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name. Five smaller post offices, Redford (1833), Beech (1871) and Bell Branch (1877), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 3,834 in 19302020 census: 49,504193 years
How historic is Redford Township?
B
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Redford Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Redford Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Redford Township is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #288 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 Redford 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 Redford Township’s 0.2 sits near the middle of its state (63% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±1.3 points) is firm at this size. 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 Redford 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.
Redford
1833–1924
Beech
1871–1906
Bell Branch
1877–1907
Sand Hill
1880–1906
Willmarth
1882–1882
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BeechRedford
Gone or out of use
Bell Branch Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Redford Township
Detroit Memorial Park West
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
People over time
Redford Township, census by census
Peaked at 71,901 in 1970; 49,504 people lived here in 2020.
10 censuses, 1930–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Redford Township’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
Redford Township on the map, 1905 to 1983
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Redford Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1905Plymouth 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 Redford Township.
Springwells Township and Bucklin Township were formally organized and laid out by gubernatorial act on April 12, 1827. Postal regulations prohibiting two post offices having the same name required—when a township was subdivided—unique names to be found. The Bucklin name was extinguished when it was split on October 29, 1829, along what is now Inkster Road into Nankin Township (west half) and Pekin Township (east half), named as a result of a wave of interest in China. In March 1833, Pekin was renamed Redford and the southern half became Dearborn Township on April 1. The name Redford was chosen because natives and colonial European immigrants forded the River Rouge where the river runs through Redford. "Rouge" is French for "red."
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.
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.
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 Redford Township post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Redford Township rank for history?
Redford Township is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #288 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 Redford Township?
One place: the Redford Township District No. 5 School (listed 1997).
How old are the homes in Redford Township?
6% of Redford Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1955.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
1898
1979
2019
2011