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Jacobsville Finnish Lutheran ChurchJacobsville Finnish Lutheran Church · Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0
A−History
History · Torch Lake Township

Torch Lake Township dates to 1886, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Jacobsville Finnish Lutheran Church and the First Congregational Church. Below: maps from 1954 on.

1886founded
2on the National Register
33%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Torch Lake Township began

When was Torch Lake Township founded?

1886

Torch Lake Township dates its founding to 1886 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1886.

2020 census: 1,893140 years

How historic is Torch Lake Township?

A−

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1886.
History grade

What drives Torch Lake Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Torch Lake Township is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Torch Lake Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1886, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194032.8% of homes (±5.7) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register2 listings, 10.5 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 76%
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 Torch Lake Township’s 10.5 sits above most of its state (83% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1886.
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 (±5.7 points).

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 Torch Lake Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages5 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Torch Lake Township, and 7 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Torch Lake Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

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

Groverton
1886–1889
Jacobsville
1887–1964
South Lake Linden
1889–1903
Point Mills
1899–1919
Hubbell
1903–today
Senter
1910–1914
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
DreamlandHubbellJacobsvillePoint MillsRabbit BaySenterWhite City
Gone or out of use
Jacobsville Post Officepost officeMills StationlocalePoint Mills Post Officepost officeSenter Post Officepost officeSenter Stationlocale
1cemetery inside Torch Lake Township
Jacobsville

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

Help out

Start Torch Lake Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Torch Lake 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
The story so far

Torch Lake Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Torch Lake Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Torch Lake Township is a civil township of Houghton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population of the township was 1,893. The township was established in 1886 and is one of the largest townships in Houghton County by area. It is surrounded by the Torch Lake, the Portage Lake, and Lake Superior. As well as a large number of unincorporated communities, the township also includes a portion of the Baraga State Forest which lies along the shores of Keweenaw Bay. The township borders Schoolcraft Township to the north, Osceola Township to the northwest, and Chassell Township to the southwest. The community of Hubbell serves as the major population center of the tow…

Torch Lake Township was established in 1886. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,880 in 2010, 1,893 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Torch Lake Township, 1886 to 1964

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886
    FoundingTorch Lake Township is established
  3. 1886Post officeThe Groverton post office opens
  4. 1887Post officeThe Jacobsville post office opens
  5. 1889Post officeThe Groverton post office closes
  6. 1889Post officeThe South Lake Linden post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1903Post officeThe South Lake Linden post office closes
  9. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1964Post officeThe Jacobsville post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Torch Lake Township on the map, 1954 to 1975

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

Torch Lake Township on the 1954 USGS mapTorch Lake Township on the 1975 USGS map1954Traverse Island sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Torch Lake Township.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Torch Lake 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
1976
Jacobsville Finnish Lutheran Church
Jacobsville Finnish Lutheran ChurchFirst Congregational Church
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Victorian Stick Style1
Jacobsville Finnish Lutheran ChurchBuilding
First Congregational ChurchVictorian Stick Style

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Torch Lake Township

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

See all →
James TolkanAmerican actor · b. 1931
Eugene ParkerAmerican astronomer · b. 1927
Nancy Harkness LoveAmerican aviator · b. 1914
Verna HillieAmerican actress · b. 1914
Rodney PaavolaAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1939
D
Donald G. SaariAmerican mathematician, expert on voting method… · b. 1940
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Osceola Township1 historic placeA+Schoolcraft Township4 historic placesAChassell Township2 historic placesBPortage TownshipIts storyB+HubbellIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDollar BayIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLake Linden3 historic placesA

Questions about Torch Lake Township’s history

What year was Torch Lake Township founded?

In 1886, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Torch Lake Township’s post office opened in 1886.

How does Torch Lake Township rank for history?

Torch Lake Township is more historic than 76% 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 Torch Lake Township?

Two places: the Jacobsville Finnish Lutheran Church (listed 1976) and the First Congregational Church (1980).

How old are the homes in Torch Lake Township?

33% of Torch Lake Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1968.

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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.