On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sumpter Township is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #621 of 701 in Michigan. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sumpter 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 Sumpter 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 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 (±3.7 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 Sumpter 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
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Martinsville
1868–1906
West Sumpter
1874–1902
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
MartinsvilleWest Sumpter
Gone or out of use
Martinsville Post Officepost officeWest Sumpter Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Sumpter Township
MartinsvilleMetropolitan Memorial Park
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Sumpter Township on the map, 1906 to 1980
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sumpter Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1906Romulus 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 Sumpter Township.
Sumpter Township was designated Township 4 South in Range 8 East of Wayne County. The original survey was approved on November 5, 1819. Federal land in Sumpter Township began to be sold to individuals by the 1830s, with one land patent to Arthur Fuller on April 4, 1833. Sumpter Township has a brief history on their web page.
Sumpter Township, including Township 4 South, of Range 8 East, was taken from Huron township and erected into a separate township on April 6, 1840, under the name of West Huron. Subsequently the name was changed to that of Sumter in honor of General Thomas Sumter, Revolutionary war hero, but the engrossing clerk inserted a "p" in the name, which has since remained Sumpter.
Sumpter Township is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #621 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 Sumpter Township?
7% of Sumpter Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 (6), Wikipedia, 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.
2014
2012
2012
2012
2010
2010
