Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 18% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Sylvan Township was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1900 on.
More historic than 18% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sylvan Township is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Sylvan 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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sylvan Township’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Sylvan Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Sylvan Township is a civil township of Osceola County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 967 at the 2020 census.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,099 to 967 (-12%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Sylvan Township’s page.
Retake this view · +15Nobody well known was born in Sylvan Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Sylvan Township is more historic than 18% 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.
4% of Sylvan Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1979.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (2) 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.
1900
2026