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History · Summit Township

14% of Summit Township’s homes were built before 1940

0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Summit 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 writtenNo old photos of Summit Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Summit Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Summit Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

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

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Fairview
1860–1876
Wesley
1895–1902
Basslake
1897–1902
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Heritage Hills Mobile Home ParkMeisenheimer Corners
Gone or out of use
Basslake Post Officepost officeFairview Post Officepost officeWesley Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Summit Township
Summit

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

The story

How Summit Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Summit Township.

Read it all →

The township was organized in 1860. Some say Summit Township was named from its lofty elevation, while others believe it was named from the optimistic spirit of its organizers.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Summit Township, 1860 to 1902

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860Post officeThe Fairview post office opens
  3. 1876Post officeThe Fairview post office closes
  4. 1895Post officeThe Wesley post office opens
  5. 1897Post officeThe Basslake post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1902Post officeThe Wesley post office closes
  8. 1902Post officeThe Basslake post office closes
By decade

Summit Township, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Summit Township, Mason County, Michigan2025Summit Township, Mason County, MichiganSummit Township, MI, USA2013Summit Township, MI, USASummit Township, MI, USA - panoramio (4)2013Summit Township, MI, USA - panoramio (4)Summit Township, MI, USA - panoramio (3)2013Summit Township, MI, USA - panoramio (3)Summit Township, MI, USA - panoramio (2)2013Summit Township, MI, USA - panoramio (2)Summit Township, MI, USA - panoramio (1)2013Summit Township, MI, USA - panoramio (1)
Famous people

Famous people close to Summit Township

Nobody well known was born in Summit Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
George WinstonAmerican pianist and recording artist · b. 1949
Walter C. WillettAmerican nutritionist · b. 1945
D
Donald W. WolfUnited States Marine · b. 1919
J
Jim LitesAmerican sports executive · b. 1954
P
Pauline HillBaseball player · b. 1926
B
Bryan BartenAmerican wheelchair tennis player · b. 1973
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Riverton TownshipIts storyB−Pentwater Township1 historic placeBPere Marquette TownshipIts storyC+

Questions about Summit Township’s history

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.