Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1875.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Baraga’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Baraga is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Baraga’s 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 Baraga’s 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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1843.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 points).
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 Baraga’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Baraga began with the establishment of the Holy Name Mission at this site by Rev. Frederic Baraga in 1843.
The post office opened with the name Bristol on June 29, 1869, and changed to Baraga on May 11, 1870.
In 1993, the Baraga Correctional Facility was opened in the town.
On May 30, 2022, a consortium including Finnish technology giant Wärtsilä, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and Burns & McDonnell unveiled a contract with Milwaukee-based WEC Energy's subsidiary Upper Michigan Energy Resources for a fuel testing pilot.
having mastered the dots and dashes of the Morse system, he received an assignment as operator at Eagle Harbor, where he received a salary of $15 per month and board. He remained in that position until April, 1874, and then, in company with Captain Bendery, went to Baraga, Baraga County, Michigan, where the captain intended to establish a telegraph office. The arrangements in some way fell through, and young Cuddihy, during the two months of waiting for the office to become a reality, secured work loading lumber into scows. He then learned that when the office was established
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Cardinal Parocchi, after which he returned to his American home. His first charge was in Detour, Michigan, where he continued one year and then for four years he had charge of the Italian parish at Iron Mountain. After a few months spent at L'Anse, Baraga County, he was sent to Marquette and has now charge of a parish comprising about 500 families. The new cathedral which was consecrated in July, 1890, was built by Bishop Vertin and is one of the finest edifices of its kind in the Northern Peninsula of Michigan. It has a seating capacity for 1500 or more and is
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Baraga, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Baraga. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1954Keweenaw Bay 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 Baraga.
Every building
Baraga, building by building, 1892–1914
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.
Between 942 and 2,053 people in every census since 1900.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Baraga’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Baraga’s history
What year was Baraga founded?
In 1843, according to Wikidata. Baraga’s post office opened in 1875, and the census of 1900 counted 1,185 people here.
How does Baraga rank for history?
Baraga is more historic than 60% 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.
How old are the homes in Baraga?
17% of Baraga’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (8), the Library of Congress (4), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1941
1941
1941
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2005
