Suttons Bay Township’s post office opened in 1861, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 61% of U.S. towns · #276 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of Suttons Bay Township was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 25 buildings. Below: maps from 1957 on and the census since 1900.
Founding year: the first Suttons Bay Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1898.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Suttons Bay Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Suttons Bay Township is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #276 of 701 in Michigan. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Suttons Bay 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 Suttons Bay Township’s 88.9 sits above most of its state (93% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 26 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1898 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Suttons Bay Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The community is named for one of the first settlers of European descent, Harry C. Sutton, who arrived in 1854. He arrived with a crew of woodsmen to supply fuel for passing wood steamboats.
In 1903 the Traverse City, Leelanau, and Manistique Railroad began a route between Traverse City to the South and Northport to the North, stopping at Suttons Bay, as well as Hatch's Crossing, Fountain Point, Bingham, Keswick, and Omena.
Before the turn of the 20th century, four churches had been established—two Lutheran, one Roman Catholic, and one Congregational.
In 1920, Leelanau County voters approved moving the county seat to Suttons Bay, but the move never took place.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Suttons Bay Township.
1957Traverse City 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 Suttons Bay Township.
People over time
Suttons Bay Township, census by census
Between 392 and 618 people in every census since 1900.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Suttons Bay Township’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Fountain PointPeshawbestownSuttons Bay
Gone or out of use
Suttons Bay Stationlocale
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Suttons Bay Township
Immaculate Conception CatholicNorwegian LutheranSaint MarysSaint MichaelSutton Bay Township
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Suttons Bay Township post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1898.
How does Suttons Bay Township rank for history?
Suttons Bay Township is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #276 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 Suttons Bay Township?
Two places: the Leelanau Transit Company Suttons Bay Depot (listed 1997) and the Fountain Point (2003).
How old are the homes in Suttons Bay Township?
9% of Suttons Bay Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1992.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
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