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B+History
History · Three Oaks Township

Three Oaks Township dates to 1850, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 72% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Union Meat Market and the Warren Featherbone Company Office Building. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1930 on, and the census since 1870.

1850founded
2on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Three Oaks Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Three Oaks Township began

When was Three Oaks Township founded?

1850

Three Oaks Township dates its founding to 1850 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 499 in 18702020 census: 2,324176 years

How historic is Three Oaks Township?

B+

More historic than 72% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1854.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Three Oaks Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Three Oaks Township is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Three Oaks Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1850, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194026.4% of homes (±5.4) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register2 listings, 9.0 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 72%
NewerOlder

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 Three Oaks Township’s 9.0 sits above most of its state (82% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.4 points). Two sources give 1850.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Three Oaks 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 writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,829 in 2000; 1,370 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Three Oaks Township’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Three Oaks Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewTurboliner in Three Oaks, April 1977: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Three Oaks Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,829

Peaked at 1,829 in 2000; 1,370 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Three Oaks Township’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Three Oaks Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Three Oaks Township.

Read it all →

The village was first settled by Henry Chamberlain in 1850 and became a village in 1867. The village was originally called Chamberlain's Siding but was changed to Three Oaks. These oak trees were a guidepoint for train engineers. None of the original three oak trees remain today; the last was cut down in the early 20th century.

Three Oaks' hometown pride is evident during its Flag Day Celebration in June. The celebration and Flag Day Parade is claimed to be the largest in the country.

"Apple Cider Century" is a bicycle ride of 15, 25, 37, 50, 62, 75 or 100 miles around Three Oaks. It was started by the Three Oaks Spokes Bicycle Club in 1974. More than 6,000 riders take part annually. It is held on the last Sunday of September.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Three Oaks Township, 1850 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850
    FoundingThree Oaks Township is established
  3. 1854Post officeThe Three Oaks post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1905BuiltWarren Featherbone Company Office Building is built
  6. 1930On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1977In the archiveTurboliner in Three Oaks, April 1977
  8. 1983In the archiveInternational Limited in Three Oaks, February 1983
  9. 21st century
  10. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 1,829
By decade

Three Oaks Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1970s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s–1980s2 items
Turboliner in Three Oaks, April 19771977Turboliner in Three Oaks, April 1977International Limited in Three Oaks, February 19831983International Limited in Three Oaks, February 1983
1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today15 recent
Tracks 19-10-04 2712019Tracks 19-10-04 271Tracks 19-10-04 2702019Tracks 19-10-04 270Tracks 19-10-04 2222019Tracks 19-10-04 222The Dewey Cannon2019The Dewey CannonSouth Elm 19-10-04 2202019South Elm 19-10-04 220North Elm 19-10-04 2242019North Elm 19-10-04 224Directions 19-10-04 2352019Directions 19-10-04 235Amtrak 19-10-04 2752019Amtrak 19-10-04 2759 S Elm 19-10-04 27420199 S Elm 19-10-04 2747 S Elm 19-10-04 27620197 S Elm 19-10-04 2767 S Elm 19-10-04 27320197 S Elm 19-10-04 2737 S Elm 19-10-04 27220197 S Elm 19-10-04 272Three Oaks Township Hall2017Three Oaks Township HallJourneyman Distillery tasting bar2011Journeyman Distillery tasting barThreeOaksMichigan2006ThreeOaksMichigan
On the map

Three Oaks Township on the map, 1930 to 1970

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Three Oaks Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Three Oaks Township on the 1930 USGS mapThree Oaks Township on the 1970 USGS map1930Three Oaks 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 Three Oaks Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Turboliner in Three Oaks, April 1977
Retake this viewTurboliner in Three Oaks, April 1977, 1977

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Three Oaks Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Three Oaks Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Union Meat Market
Union Meat MarketWarren Featherbone Company Office Building, built 1905
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Renaissance Revival1
Union Meat MarketBuilding
Warren Featherbone Company Office BuildingRenaissance Revival · Built 1905

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s 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
Oakview Estates Mobile Home ParkThree Oaks
Gone or out of use
Oselka Airportairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Three Oaks Township
Forest LawnShedd

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.

New Buffalo TownshipIts storyB−Chikaming Township1 historic placeA

Questions about Three Oaks Township’s history

What year was Three Oaks Township founded?

In 1850, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Three Oaks Township’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1870 counted 499 people here.

How does Three Oaks Township rank for history?

Three Oaks Township is more historic than 72% 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.

What is on the National Register in Three Oaks Township?

Two places: the Union Meat Market (listed 1972) and the Warren Featherbone Company Office Building (1986).

How old are the homes in Three Oaks Township?

26% of Three Oaks Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1961.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (17), Wikidata (1), 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.