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BHistory
History · Wexford Township

Wexford Township dates to 1840, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1957 on, and the census since 1870.

1840founded
0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wexford Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wexford Township began

When was Wexford Township founded?

1840

Wexford Township dates its founding to 1840 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 650 in 18702020 census: 1,161186 years

How historic is Wexford Township?

B

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1865.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Wexford Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wexford Township is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wexford Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1840, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194013.8% of homes (±4.9) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical MI town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 56%
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 Wexford 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 (±4.9 points). Two sources give 1840.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Wexford Township’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Wexford Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1840: 186 years of Wexford Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wexford Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wexford Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCadillac Big Wheels: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

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

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

Wexford
1865–1918
Farnsworth
1889–1902
Bagnell
1902–1919
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bagnall
Gone or out of use
Bagnall StationlocaleBagnell Post Officepost officeWexford Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Wexford Township
CornellCrowell Family

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

Timeline

Wexford Township, 1840 to 1957

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1840
    FoundingWexford Township is established
  3. 1865Post officeThe Wexford post office opens
  4. 1889Post officeThe Farnsworth post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1902Post officeThe Farnsworth post office closes
  7. 1902Post officeThe Bagnell post office opens
  8. 1908In the archiveCadillac Big Wheels
  9. 1913In the archiveCaldwell Manton residence 1913
  10. 1918Post officeThe Wexford post office closes
  11. 1919Post officeThe Bagnell post office closes
  12. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Wexford Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wexford Township.

Read it all →

The county was established by the Michigan Legislature in 1840 as Kautawaubet County, from gaa-dawaabide meaning "broken tooth" in the Anishinaabe language, which was the name of a local Potawatomi chief. In 1843, legislators renamed the county Wexford, after County Wexford in Ireland.

In 1851, Wexford County was attached to Grand Traverse County for administrative purposes. It was then attached to Manistee County in 1855, before being organized on its own in 1869.

ChaptersCounty seat battle

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Wexford Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s2 items
Cadillac Big Wheelsc. 1908Cadillac Big WheelsPostcardCaldwell Manton residence 19131913Caldwell Manton residence 1913Postcard
1920s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today16 recent
Harrietta, MI (July 2022)2022Harrietta, MI (July 2022)Haring, MI CDP (July 2022)2022Haring, MI CDP (July 2022)Caberfae, MI (July 2022)2022Caberfae, MI (July 2022)Caberfae Ski Resort Company Informational Site2022Caberfae Ski Resort Company Informational SiteBattle of Manton Informational Designation2022Battle of Manton Informational DesignationLake Gitchegumee2021Lake GitchegumeeBriar Hill in Autumn2018Briar Hill in AutumnCaberfae Peaks2017Caberfae PeaksCaberfae Michigan2017Caberfae MichiganMichigan, United States (Unsplash)2016Michigan, United States (Unsplash)Michigan, United States (Unsplash C94 VgYo9vA)2016Michigan, United States (Unsplash C94 VgYo9vA)Fun In The Snow2012Fun In The SnowFun In The Snow2012Fun In The SnowFun In The Snow2012Fun In The SnowGreetings from Cadillac, Michigan - Large Letter Postcard2012Greetings from Cadillac, Michigan - Large Letter Post…DocumentM-55 overpass on US 1312009M-55 overpass on US 131
On the map

Wexford Township on the map, 1957 to 1987

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

Wexford Township on the 1957 USGS mapWexford Township on the 1987 USGS map1957Copemish 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 Wexford 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.

Cadillac Big Wheels
Retake this viewCadillac Big Wheels, c. 1908

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Wexford Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Wexford Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,0001880190019201940196019802000202033,673

Grew from 650 people in 1870 to 33,673 in 2020, more than tenfold.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Wexford Township’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Cleon TownshipIts storyCHanover TownshipIts storyC−Springville TownshipIts storyCGrant TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Wexford Township’s history

What year was Wexford Township founded?

In 1840, according to Wikidata. Wexford Township’s post office opened in 1865, and the census of 1870 counted 650 people here.

How does Wexford Township rank for history?

Wexford Township is more historic than 56% 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 Wexford Township?

14% of Wexford Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1983.

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 Wikimedia Commons (18), 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.