Auburn Hills was first counted by the census in 1880
More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #609 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of Auburn Hills was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1908 on, and the census since 1880.
Auburn Hills first appears in the census in 1880. Three smaller post offices, Auburn (1825), Amy (1880) and Auburn Heights (1919), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 111 in 18802020 census: 24,360146 years
How historic is Auburn Hills?
C−
More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Auburn Hills is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #609 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Auburn Hills’ 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 Auburn Hills’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (32% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: the first census (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 Auburn Hills’ 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
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Auburn
1825–1866
Amy
1880–1919
Auburn Heights
1919–1960
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Auburn HeightsCollege Heights Mobile Home ParkLake in the Hills Mobile Home ParkOak GroveOakland Estates Mobile Home ParkSheffield Estates Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Auburn Heights Post Officepost officeAuburn Heights Stationlocale
1cemetery inside Auburn Hills
Aaron Webster
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Auburn Hills on the map, 1908 to 1997
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Auburn Hills. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1908Rochester 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 Auburn Hills.
In 1821, Auburn Hills began as Pontiac Township which included the village of Auburn at what is today the corner of Auburn and Squirrel roads. Situated on the Clinton River, it was named by Aaron Webster, the first settler, for Auburn, New York. His sawmill and grist mill attracted settlers to Auburn. After the streets were laid out in 1826, Auburn rivaled nearby Pontiac until the 1860s, when it lost its own prosperity. The town was renamed Amy in 1880, and it officially became Auburn Heights in 1919. Pontiac Township bordered the city of Pontiac on two sides.
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.
The Auburn Hills post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1983.
How does Auburn Hills rank for history?
Auburn Hills is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #609 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.
How old are the homes in Auburn Hills?
6% of Auburn Hills’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1991.
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 (18), 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) 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.
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