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A−History
History · Alma

Alma dates to 1853, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns · #156 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 58 buildings. Below: 26 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1870.

1853founded
2on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
26old photos & papers
10famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Alma’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Alma began

When was Alma founded?

1853

Alma dates its founding to 1853 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 402 in 18702020 census: 9,488173 years

How historic is Alma?

A−

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1857.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Alma’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Alma is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #156 of 701 in Michigan. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Alma’s overall grade.
Founding era1853, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194020.0% of homes (±4.6) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register2 listings, 60 historic buildings, 63.9 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 76%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 78%

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 Alma’s 63.9 sits above most of its state (92% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 60 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.6 points). Two sources give 1853.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Alma’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos26 old photos, postcards and papers, 1887–1900.A historic districtThe Alma Downtown Historic District takes in 58 historic buildings.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1917, drew every building in Alma.Famous sons and daughtersBetty Mahmoody, Gary E. Luck and 8 more were born here.
★ What stands out · By decade

Alma, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1890s11 items
Ammi Williard Wright1887Ammi Williard WrightAlma Sanitarium, in the grounds1895Alma Sanitarium, in the groundsAlma Sanitarium, smoking room1895Alma Sanitarium, smoking roomAlma Sanitarium, billiard room1895Alma Sanitarium, billiard roomAlma Sanitarium, the gym1895Alma Sanitarium, the gymAlma Sanitarium, the gym1895Alma Sanitarium, the gymAlma College, Wright Hall1895Alma College, Wright HallSanitarium Park1895Sanitarium ParkPine River1895Pine RiverEntrance, Sanitarium Park1895Entrance, Sanitarium ParkDam on the Pine River1895Dam on the Pine River
1900s15 items
Alma College1900Alma CollegeWright Hall1900Wright HallPine River1900Pine RiverAlma Sanitarium1900Alma SanitariumAlma, Mich1900Alma, MichAlma Sanitarium, the parlor1900Alma Sanitarium, the parlorAlma Sanitarium, reception hall1900Alma Sanitarium, reception hallAlma Sanitarium, dining room1900Alma Sanitarium, dining roomAlma Sanitarium, gentlemen's writing room1900Alma Sanitarium, gentlemen's writing roomAlma Sanitarium, reception hall and office1900Alma Sanitarium, reception hall and officeAlma Sanitarium, part of the sun parlor1900Alma Sanitarium, part of the sun parlorResidence of Dr. J.H. Lancashire1900Residence of Dr. J.H. LancashireResidence of Dr. J.H. Lancashire1900Residence of Dr. J.H. LancashireResidence of Mr. A.W. Wright1900Residence of Mr. A.W. WrightResidence of Dr. J.H. Lancashire, library1900Residence of Dr. J.H. Lancashire, library
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the National Register

2 listings protect 60 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
60
each building in a district counts
first listed
2013
Wright Opera house Block Complex
Wright Opera house Block Complex, built 1880Alma Downtown Historic District
BuildingsDistricts
Wright Opera house Block ComplexBuilt 1880
Alma Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Every building

Alma, building by building, 1884–1917

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Alma fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Alma came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Alma.

Read it all →

Alma was founded in 1853 by Ralph Ely. Perhaps first known for the Alma Springs Sanitarium, built and promoted in the 1880s by millionaire lumberman and capitalist Ammi W. Wright, it achieved its greatest prominence nationally in the 1910s and 1920s as home of the Republic Motor Truck Company, briefly the largest exclusive truck manufacturer in the world. At one point, Republic was the maker of one out of every nine trucks on the roads in the United States. It was one of the major suppliers of "Liberty trucks" used by American troops during World War I.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Alma, 1853 to 1945

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1853
    FoundingAlma is established
  3. 1857Post officeThe Alma post office opens
  4. 1880BuiltWright Opera house Block Complex is built
  5. 1887In the archiveAmmi Williard Wright
  6. 1895In the archiveAlma Sanitarium, in the grounds
  7. 20th century
  8. 1900In the archiveAlma College
  9. 1914Born hereRalph Rapson is born here
  10. 1916Born hereDonald Ellis Hudson is born here
  11. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1937Born hereGary E. Luck is born here
  13. 1945Born hereBetty Mahmoody is born here
On the map

Alma on the map, 1935 to 1973

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

Alma on the 1935 USGS mapAlma on the 1973 USGS map1935Alma 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 Alma.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Ammi Williard Wright
Retake this viewAmmi Williard Wright, 1887

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Alma’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Alma, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 9,652

Between 402 and 9,652 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Alma’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

10 famous people were born in Alma

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
B
Betty MahmoodyAmerican writer · b. 1945
Gary E. LuckRecipient of the Purple Heart medal · b. 1937
Ralph RapsonArchitect · b. 1914
D
Donald Ellis HudsonAmerican structural engineer · b. 1916
F
Frank W. NotesteinAmerican demographer · b. 1902
Keegan AkinAmerican professional baseball player · b. 1995
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Alma’s post office has been open since 1857.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Meadows Mobile Home Park
1cemetery inside Alma
Riverside

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

Help out

Finish Alma’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAmmi Williard Wright: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Pine River TownshipIts storyC−Arcada TownshipIts storyCSt. Louis1 historic placeA−

Questions about Alma’s history

What year was Alma founded?

In 1853, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Alma’s post office opened in 1857, and the census of 1870 counted 402 people here.

How does Alma rank for history?

Alma is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #156 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 Alma?

Two places: the Wright Opera house Block Complex (listed 2013) and the Alma Downtown Historic District (2013).

How old are the homes in Alma?

20% of Alma’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.6 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1964.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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).

From Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (25), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.