Tenney was incorporated as a city in 1901, its main economic feature being a single grain elevator. It encompassed 4 square miles, but it never grew to reach its boundaries, and it most recently consisted of just two and a half blocks. The town experienced a steady decline in population during the past century, and the post office was discontinued in 1980 when the population reached 19.

 

As of late June 2011, Tenney is no more — its remaining three residents voted 2 to 1 to dissolve the town and have it become part of Campbell Township. A few months prior to the vote, Mayor Kristen Schwab called a hearing to discuss a potential dissolution, thanks to a petition she signed herself. (Because the town consisted of three people, only one signature was needed to meet the legal requirement of getting a third of all voters to sign.) Schwab and City Clerk Oscar Guenther voted to dissolve Tenney; the dissenting vote came from Guenther’s sister. Dissolving the city means the township will take over Tenney's four vacant lots and two buildings, a church that was renovated into City Hall and another church renovated into a community center.