The Williams Township post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name. Four smaller post offices, Williams (1868), North Williams (1891) and Laredo (1892), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 4,492 in 20002020 census: 5,058158 years
How historic is Williams Township?
C
More historic than 31% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Williams Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Williams Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Williams Township is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #554 of 701 in Michigan. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Williams 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 Williams 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 C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.7 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 Williams Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Willams Post Office opened August 26, 1868 in what is now North Williams and operated until April 10, 1874.
North Williams Post Office was opened on March 20, 1891 east of what is now North Williams at Garfield and Wheeler roads. On April 22, the Colden Post Office was opened at Rockwell Road and James Savage Road in what is now the US-10 and M-20 interchange on the border with Midland County.
The Laredo Post Office opened Aug 19, 1892 in what is now Fisherville. On January 15, 1898, the Laredo Post Office was closed until its February 8, 1899 reopening. The last day that the North Williams Post Office was open was May 15, 1903. On Apr 30, 1906, the Laredo PO was again closed. The Colden Post Office was discontinued on January 15, 1907.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Williams Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1962Auburn 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 Williams Township.
People over time
Williams Township, census by census
Between 4,492 and 5,058 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Williams Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Williams Township
Nobody well known was born in Williams Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Williams Township post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Williams Township rank for history?
Williams Township is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #554 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 Williams Township?
11% of Williams Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 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 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.
