Larkin Township was established in 1879.  The township was named for John Larkin (lumberman, hotel keeper, and entrepreneur) who was called "the Father of Midland City".

According to the Portrait and Biographical Album of Midland County, Michigan, 1884, Larkin Township was settled in 1876, largely by immigration from Lincoln Township, which borders it on the west.

Presently, children living in Larkin Township attend school in the City of Midland.  Before the 1960s, Larkin had three one-room schools:  the Waldo School (located on Waldo Road on the Earl Gerstacker farm), the Gray School (located on Eastman Road at Mier, named for Harley and Orson Gray) and the Hubbard School (located on Hubbard Road).

Larkin Township has grown from a logging and farming community to the rural settings of several new subdivisions.

Larkin Township became a Charter Township in 1978.  The U.S. Census of 2000 reported Larkin Township's population as 4,514.