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Navigation Structures at Saugatuck HarborNavigation Structures at Saugatuck Harbor · Photo: Andrew Jameson · CC BY-SA 4.0
C+History
History · Saugatuck Township

Saugatuck Township dates to 1868, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 37% of U.S. towns · #498 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Most of Saugatuck Township was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1999. Its Register listing is the Navigation Structures at Saugatuck Harbor. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1928 on, and the census since 1870.

1868founded
1on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Saugatuck Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Saugatuck Township began

When was Saugatuck Township founded?

1868

Saugatuck Township dates its founding to 1868 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 1,026 in 18702020 census: 3,443158 years

How historic is Saugatuck Township?

C+

More historic than 37% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1879.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Saugatuck Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Saugatuck Township is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #498 of 701 in Michigan. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Saugatuck Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1868, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19404.4% of homes (±2.4) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 2.8 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 37%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 29%

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 Saugatuck Township’s 2.8 sits above most of its state (71% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1868.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Saugatuck 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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Saugatuck Township, and 4 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Saugatuck Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMaplewood Hotel, Butler Street, Saugatu…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

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

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Macks LandingOld SaugatuckOxbowSingapore
Gone or out of use
Peachbelt Post Officepost office
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Saugatuck Township
Douglas AnnexDouglasRiverside

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

The story

How Saugatuck Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Saugatuck Township.

Read it all →

William C. Butler was the first European-American settler in 1830 of "Kalamazoo village", as it was at first known. He bought land and had a village plat laid out in 1833. In 1836 the legislature gave Kalamazoo, formerly known as Bronson in honor of Titus Bronson, its current name. Thus the community was renamed after the township current name, Newark. The first postmaster suggested the name of Saugatuck, a native American name signifying a stream outlet, for the post office, and this name was taken when Saugatuck was incorporated as a village in 1868 by the County Board of Supervisors. The village was reincorporated by the legislature in its 1869-1870 session.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Saugatuck Township, 1868 to 1991

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868
    FoundingSaugatuck Township is established
  3. 1879Post officeThe Peach Belt post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1905Post officeThe Peach Belt post office closes
  6. 1928On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1991In the archiveMaplewood Hotel, Butler Street, Saugatuck, Michigan
By decade

Saugatuck Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s1 item
Maplewood Hotel, Butler Street, Saugatuck, Michigan1991Maplewood Hotel, Butler Street, Saugatuck, Michigan
Today14 recent
Ethanol-Free Pump Saugatuck, MI2014Ethanol-Free Pump Saugatuck, MIClipson Brewery Ice House2014Clipson Brewery Ice HouseGreetings from Saugatuck, Michigan - Large Letter Postcard2012Greetings from Saugatuck, Michigan - Large Letter Pos…DocumentSaugatuck, Michigan. Oval Beach. Late October fog racing over the dunes2011Saugatuck, Michigan. Oval Beach. Late October fog rac…Saugatuck, Michigan. Oval Beach2011Saugatuck, Michigan. Oval BeachSaugatuckChainFerry2009SaugatuckChainFerrySaugatuck, Michigan or Singapore, Michigan Light House2009Saugatuck, Michigan or Singapore, Michigan Light HouseUncommon Ground - Saugatuck MI - Flickr - ^Ann Gordon2007Uncommon Ground - Saugatuck MI - Flickr - ^Ann GordonMaryLynnRajskub2007MaryLynnRajskubSaugatuck MI from Mount Baldhead2006Saugatuck MI from Mount BaldheadSVillageHall2006SVillageHallSaugatauk Michigan2005Saugatauk MichiganMIMap-doton-Saugatuck2005MIMap-doton-SaugatuckKalamazoo River2005Kalamazoo River
On the map

Saugatuck Township on the map, 1928 to 1981

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

Saugatuck Township on the 1928 USGS mapSaugatuck Township on the 1931 USGS mapSaugatuck Township on the 1981 USGS map1928Fennville 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 Saugatuck Township.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Saugatuck Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2001
Navigation Structures at Saugatuck Harbor
Navigation Structures at Saugatuck Harbor
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Utilitarian1
Navigation Structures at Saugatuck HarborUtilitarian

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Saugatuck Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,079

Between 526 and 1,079 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Saugatuck Township’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Douglas2 historic placesBSaugatuck6 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townManlius Township1 historic placeB+Laketown Township1 historic placeBGanges TownshipIts storyB−

Questions about Saugatuck Township’s history

What year was Saugatuck Township founded?

In 1868, according to Wikidata. Saugatuck Township’s post office opened in 1879, and the census of 1870 counted 1,026 people here.

How does Saugatuck Township rank for history?

Saugatuck Township is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #498 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 Saugatuck Township?

One place: the Navigation Structures at Saugatuck Harbor (listed 2001).

How old are the homes in Saugatuck Township?

4% of Saugatuck Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1999.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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).

From Wikimedia Commons (15), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.