From Secord Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Secord Township began
When was Secord Township founded?
1908
The Secord Township post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Secord (1908), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,046118 years
How historic is Secord Township?
D
More historic than 8% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Secord Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Secord Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Secord Township is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Secord 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 Secord 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 still be D. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 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 Secord Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Secord Township, along with many other townships in the Tri County area, was originally inhabited by Native Americans prior to the arrival of Europeans. The Chippewa tribe was most present at this time. A Canadian man named Marcel Secord first arrived to the area in 1861 with his family while canoeing down the Tittabawassee River. In the Summer of 1864, he built a login cabin roughly 10 miles (16.1 km) east of Gladwin. Secord was a skilled trapper and hunter, providing meals to early lumberjacks in the area. The area would later be known as "Secord" when a post office was established in 1912 when Secord Township was officially organized. The township is named for Marvel Secord, an early settler.
The Secord Township post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Secord Township rank for history?
Secord Township is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns. 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 Secord Township?
2% of Secord Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1987.
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 (4), 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.
Date?
2021
2021
2021
