Williamstown Township’s post office opened in 1842, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 63% of U.S. towns · #252 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of Williamstown Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Its Register listing is the St. Katherine's Chapel. Below: maps from 1909 on.
The Williamstown Township post office opened in 1842, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Williamstown (1842) and Alverson (1852), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 5,286184 years
How historic is Williamstown Township?
B
More historic than 63% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Williamstown Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Williamstown Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Williamstown Township is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #252 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Williamstown 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 Williamstown Township’s 1.9 sits above most of its state (69% 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 B− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.5 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 Williamstown 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.
Williamstown
1842–1884
Alverson
1852–1896
Williamston
1884–today
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Willow Village Home Court
Gone or out of use
Alverson Post Officepost office
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Williamstown Township
FooteSaint Katherine's EpiscopalSummit
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Williamstown Township on the map, 1909 to 1970
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Williamstown Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1909Mason 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 Williamstown Township.
The story so far
Williamstown Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Williamstown Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Williamstown Township is a civil township of Ingham County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 5,286. The city of Williamston occupies the southeast corner of the township, but the two are administered autonomously.
Its first post office opened in 1842. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 4,978 to 5,286 (+6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Williamstown Township, 1842 to 1909
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Williamstown Township post office opened in 1842, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Williamstown Township rank for history?
Williamstown Township is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #252 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.
What is on the National Register in Williamstown Township?
One place: the St. Katherine's Chapel (listed 1970).
How old are the homes in Williamstown Township?
7% of Williamstown Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1981.
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.
