On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Resort Township is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #355 of 701 in Michigan. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Resort 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 Resort Township’s 3.5 sits above most of its state (73% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Resort Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The story so far
Resort Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Resort Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Resort Township is a civil township of Emmet County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The southwesternmost township of Emmet County, Resort Township is immediately adjacent Petoskey, the county seat and largest city in Emmet County. Resort Township also has a shoreline on Little Traverse Bay, a bay of Lake Michigan. At the 2020 census, the population was 2,835, an increase from 2,697 at the 2010 census.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,697 to 2,835 (+5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Resort Township, 1878 to 1968
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Resort Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1958Bayshore 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 Resort Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Resort Township
Nobody well known was born in Resort Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Resort Township is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #355 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 Resort Township?
One place: the Ernest Hemingway Cottage (listed 1968).
How old are the homes in Resort Township?
7% of Resort Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1992.
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), 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.
★ Landmark
