Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1887.
History grade
What drives Watersmeet Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Watersmeet Township is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Watersmeet 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 Watersmeet Township’s 9.6 sits above most of its state (82% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±4.1 points). Two sources give 1884.
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 Watersmeet 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.
Watersmeet
1887–today
Bonifas
1910–1930
Carlson
1921–1924
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BeatonBonifasFullerKatakitckon Indian VillageStickleyTamarackThayerWatersmeet
Gone or out of use
Bonifas Post Officepost officeCarlson Post Officepost officeWatersmeet Stationlocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Watersmeet Township
Katakikon Indian VillageWatersmeet Township
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Watersmeet Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Watersmeet Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Watersmeet is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Watersmeet Township, Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 408, out of a total population in the township of 1,456. The community was platted in 1884, designated as a station of the Milwaukee Lake Shore and Western Railroad.
Watersmeet Township was established in 1884. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,417 to 1,456 (+3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Watersmeet Township, 1884 to 1999
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Watersmeet Township.
1999Watersmeet 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 Watersmeet Township.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Watersmeet Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
In 1884, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Watersmeet Township’s post office opened in 1887.
How does Watersmeet Township rank for history?
Watersmeet 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.
What is on the National Register in Watersmeet Township?
One place: the Rice Bay (listed 2015).
How old are the homes in Watersmeet Township?
12% of Watersmeet Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
