The Torch Lake Township post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Torch Lake (1866), Creswell (1869) and Wilson (1872), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,212160 years
How historic is Torch Lake Township?
C−
More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Torch Lake Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
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 23% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Torch Lake 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 Torch Lake 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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Torch Lake 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
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Torch Lake
1866–1911
Creswell
1869–1904
Wilson
1872–1873
Eastport
1873–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CreswellEastportTorch Lake
Gone or out of use
Creswell Post Officepost officeTorch Lake Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Torch Lake Township
Lake ViewRussell
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
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 Antrim County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in the Northern Lower Peninsula, the township comprises an isthmus between the eponymous Torch Lake and Grand Traverse Bay, a bay of Lake Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 1,212, a slight increase from 1,194 at the 2010 census.
Its first post office opened in 1866. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,194 in 2010, 1,212 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Torch Lake Township, 1866 to 1954
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
1954Central Lake 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 Torch Lake Township.
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.
The Torch Lake Township post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Torch Lake Township rank for history?
Torch Lake Township is more historic than 23% 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.
How old are the homes in Torch Lake Township?
6% of Torch Lake Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1988.
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 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.
