The Sandstone Township post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name. Four smaller post offices, Sand Stone (1832), Barry (1834) and Gidley's Station (1845), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 3,927194 years
How historic is Sandstone Township?
B
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Sandstone Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Sandstone Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sandstone Township is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #282 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sandstone 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 Sandstone 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 C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.4 points). 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 Sandstone 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
Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Sand Stone
1832–1834
Barry
1834–1860
Gidley's Station
1845–1862
Sandstone
1860–1904
Parma
1862–today
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ParmaSandstoneWoodville
Gone or out of use
Sandstone Post Officepost office
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Sandstone Township
ChapelDearingPherdunUpton
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Sandstone Township on the map, 1919 to 1981
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sandstone Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1919Springport 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 Sandstone Township.
Originally part of Spring Arbor Township, Sandstone was established in 1837 by act of the state legislature. It incorporated as a charter township in 2000 after rapid commercial and industrial development and the need for expanded municipal powers. One major development was Michigan Automotive Compressors, Inc. (MACI), which produces parts for the automotive industry and employs several hundred members of the community.
Sandstone Station is a former railroad stop along the current Norfolk Southern Railway/Amtrak line between Jackson and Albion. The station building is located at the intersection of Sandstone Road and Michigan Avenue (formerly U.S. Highway 12).
The Sandstone Township post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Sandstone Township rank for history?
Sandstone Township is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #282 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.
How old are the homes in Sandstone Township?
17% of Sandstone Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1975.
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, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
