On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Westphalia Township is more historic than 48% 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 Westphalia 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 Westphalia 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 (±4.2 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 Westphalia Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Westphalia was founded in 1836 by a group of German settlers. It was named after the province of Westphalia in Germany.
These settlers were German Catholics who emigrated from the Westphalian cities of Wimbach, Meerhof, and from Hesse, among others, and found the rich soil ideal for farming. Some family members stayed in Detroit, while others moved into the wilderness to clear farmland. The German-Catholic parish was established almost immediately after the settlers arrived. After buying the land at Ionia, Father Anton Kopp traveled to Detroit to visit Bishop Friedrich Reese, and returned to his assigned parish in September 1837, where he celebrated Masses in the homes of the settlers in what is now St. Mary's Parish.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Westphalia Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1945Portland 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 Westphalia 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.
Retake this viewWestphalia Michigan Log church, 1936
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Westphalia Township’s page.
The Westphalia Township post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Westphalia Township rank for history?
Westphalia Township is more historic than 48% 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 Westphalia Township?
28% of Westphalia Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (3), 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.
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