The Wakeshma Township post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Wakeshma (1852) and Wakeshma Centre (1868), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,341174 years
How historic is Wakeshma Township?
B−
More historic than 53% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Wakeshma Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Wakeshma Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wakeshma Township is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wakeshma 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 Wakeshma 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 B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.9 points). 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 Wakeshma 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
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Wakeshma
1852–1875
Wakeshma Centre
1868–1869
Fulton
1869–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
FultonGardners Corners
Gone or out of use
Wakeshma Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Wakeshma Township
North FultonSouth Fulton
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Wakeshma Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Wakeshma Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Wakeshma Township is a civil township of Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The 2020 census recorded a population of 1,341, up from 1,301 at the 2010 census.
Its first post office opened in 1852. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,301 to 1,341 (+3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Wakeshma Township, 1852 to 1928
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The Wakeshma Township post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Wakeshma Township rank for history?
Wakeshma Township is more historic than 53% 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 Wakeshma Township?
34% of Wakeshma Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1979.
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), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
2023