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B−History
History · White Lake Township

White Lake Township’s post office opened in 1836

More historic than 45% of U.S. towns · #408 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Most of White Lake Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: maps from 1985 on.

1836first post office
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Dwight Burdette · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

How White Lake Township began

When was White Lake Township founded?

1836

The White Lake Township post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name. Four smaller post offices, White Lake (1836), Plainville (1838) and White Lake Centre (1873), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 30,950190 years

How historic is White Lake Township?

B−

More historic than 45% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first White Lake Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives White Lake Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, White Lake Township is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #408 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of White Lake Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1836, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19406.9% of homes (±1.4) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%C+National 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 45%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 42%

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 White 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 B. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 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 White Lake 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 writtenNo old photos of White Lake Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s White Lake Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsA post office since 1836: 190 years of White Lake Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start White Lake Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

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

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

White Lake
1836–1910
Plainville
1838–1841
White Lake Centre
1873–1875
Ox Bow
1875–1901
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
OxbowUnion LakeWhite Lake
Gone or out of use
Oxbow Post Officepost officeWhite Lake Post Officepost office
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside White Lake Township
GrangerOxbow LakesideSaint Patrick's CatholicWhite Lake

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

Timeline

White Lake Township, 1836 to 1999

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1836Post officeThe White Lake post office opens
  3. 1838Post officeThe Plainville post office opens
  4. 1841Post officeThe Plainville post office closes
  5. 1873Post officeThe White Lake Centre post office opens
  6. 1875Post officeThe White Lake Centre post office closes
  7. 20th century
  8. 1910Post officeThe White Lake post office closes
  9. 1985On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1999Born hereRonnie Attard is born here
The story so far

White Lake Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of White Lake Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

White Lake Charter Township is a charter township of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Together with its two unincorporated communities, the township makes up part of the Detroit metropolitan area outskirts. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 30,950. The Huron River rises in White Lake Township.

Its first post office opened in 1836. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 30,019 to 30,950 (+3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

White Lake Township, decade by decade

Today6 recent
White River Mouth on Lake Michigan2023White River Mouth on Lake MichiganMuskegon county MI White Lake IMG 17882012Muskegon county MI White Lake IMG 1788Muskegon county MI White Lake IMG 17862012Muskegon county MI White Lake IMG 1786White Lake Township Michigan township office2011White Lake Township Michigan township officeWhite Lake Township Michigan Highland Road2011White Lake Township Michigan Highland RoadLakeland High School2011Lakeland High School
On the map

White Lake Township on the map in 1985

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of White Lake Township.

White Lake Township on the 1985 USGS map1985Pontiac sheet · 1:100,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of White Lake Township.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Springfield TownshipIts storyC+Commerce Township2 historic placesBWaterford Township1 historic placeB+Highland Township2 historic placesB+

Questions about White Lake Township’s history

What year was White Lake Township founded?

The White Lake Township post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does White Lake Township rank for history?

White Lake Township is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #408 of 701 in Michigan. 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 White Lake Township?

7% of White Lake Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 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 (6), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.