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B+History
History · Bangor

Bangor dates to 1854, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Bangor Elevator. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1880.

1854founded
1on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bangor’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bangor began

When was Bangor founded?

1854

Bangor dates its founding to 1854 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 1,102 in 18802020 census: 2,016172 years

How historic is Bangor?

B+

More historic than 65% 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: 1859.
History grade

What drives Bangor’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bangor is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bangor’s overall grade.
Founding era1854, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194023.7% of homes (±5.2) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 4.7 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 65%
NewerOlder

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 Bangor’s 4.7 sits above most of its state (75% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±5.2 points). Two sources give 1854.

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 Bangor’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1893 to 1918, drew every building in Bangor.Old housesHalf of Bangor’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bangor’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAmerican Freedom Train 1976: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Bangor, building by building, 1893–1918

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.

Bangor fire insurance map, 1893, sheet 11893Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

The story so far

Bangor, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bangor yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Bangor is a city in Van Buren County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, Bangor had a population of 2,016. The city is located in the northeast corner of Bangor Township, but is politically independent. It was first organized as a town in 1854 and named after Bangor, Maine.

Bangor was established in 1854. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,885 to 2,016 (+7%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Bangor, 1854 to 1976

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854
    FoundingBangor is established
  3. 1859Post officeThe Bangor post office opens
  4. 1873BuiltBangor Elevator is built
  5. 1889Born hereGrover C. Dillman is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1901Born hereThelma Terry is born here
  8. 1920Born hereHall Overton is born here
  9. 1927On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1942Born herePeter Gent is born here
  11. 1976In the archiveAmerican Freedom Train 1976
By decade

Bangor, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s1 item
American Freedom Train 19761976American Freedom Train 1976
1980s–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
Today3 recent
Sacred Heart-Bangor2021Sacred Heart-BangorBangor Elevator2012Bangor ElevatorRibbon cutting ceremony for new Marrone Bio Innovation manufacturing facility in Bangor2011Ribbon cutting ceremony for new Marrone Bio Innovatio…
On the map

Bangor on the map, 1927 to 1981

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

Bangor on the 1927 USGS mapBangor on the 1931 USGS mapBangor on the 1943 USGS mapBangor on the 1981 USGS map1927Bangor 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 Bangor.

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.

American Freedom Train 1976
Retake this viewAmerican Freedom Train 1976, 1976

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Bangor

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2009
Bangor Elevator
Bangor Elevator, built 1873
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Timber-Frame Grain Elevator1
Bangor ElevatorTimber-Frame Grain Elevator · Built 1873

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

People over time

Bangor, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,109

Between 904 and 2,109 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Bangor

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

See all →
H
Hall OvertonMusician, composer, music teacher · b. 1920
P
Peter GentAmerican football player · b. 1942
T
Thelma TerryAmerican musician · b. 1901
Grover C. DillmanAmerican engineer · b. 1889
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Bangor TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townArlington TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Bangor’s history

What year was Bangor founded?

In 1854, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Bangor’s post office opened in 1859, and the census of 1880 counted 1,102 people here.

How does Bangor rank for history?

Bangor is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns. 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 Bangor?

One place: the Bangor Elevator (listed 2009).

How old are the homes in Bangor?

24% of Bangor’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 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 (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.