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History · Athol Township

Athol Township’s post office opened in 1881, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1899 on.

1881first post office
0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Athol Township began

When was Athol Township founded?

1881

The Athol Township post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 54145 years
Founding year: the first Athol Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Athol 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 Athol Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18993 editions of the USGS map, 1899 to 1985. Watch Athol Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Athol Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Athol Township on the map, 1899 to 1985

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

Athol Township on the 1899 USGS mapAthol Township on the 1966 USGS mapAthol Township on the 1985 USGS map1899Northville sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Athol Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Athol Township.

Read it all →

Athol was originally named Myrtle City for Myrtle Taylor, the child of a first settler. The community was renamed in 1881 when the Chicago and North Western Railroad came through the area. The town was named for Athol, Massachusetts, which was named for James Murray, second Duke of Atholl, Scotland. Athol received a US Post Office on September 28, 1881. R. G. Bestor published the Athol Star newspaper for a time beginning in the 1880s.

On February 23, 1903, one man was killed and thirteen people injured in a Chicago and North Western Railroad accident near town.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Athol Township

Nobody well known was born in Athol Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Hallie FlanaganAmerican theatrical producer · b. 1890
J
Joseph CharronCatholic bishop · b. 1939
Conde Balcom McCulloughAmerican bridge engineer · b. 1887
Roy WierAmerican politician · b. 1888
V
Virgil BoekelheideAmerican chemist · b. 1919
B
Billy RobinsonAmerican aviator · b. 1884
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Athol
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Athol Township
AtholSaint AnnsSaint Mary's

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Groveland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPioneer Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJefferson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNorthville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townThree Rivers TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Athol Township’s history

What year was Athol Township founded?

The Athol Township post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, 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.