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B+History
History · Bellaire

Bellaire dates to 1879, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 68% of U.S. towns. What drives it

3 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1880.

1879founded
3on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bellaire’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bellaire began

When was Bellaire founded?

1879

Bellaire dates its founding to 1879 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 65 in 18802020 census: 1,053147 years

How historic is Bellaire?

B+

More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1879.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Bellaire’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bellaire is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bellaire’s overall grade.
Founding era1879, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194019.2% of homes (±6.0) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register3 listings, 29.8 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 68%
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 Bellaire’s 29.8 sits above most of its state (88% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±6.0 points). Two sources give 1879.

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 Bellaire’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1900 and 1930, then more than doubled.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1893 to 1929, drew every building in Bellaire.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bellaire’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bellaire’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 viewCounty House: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Bellaire, census by census

02004006008001,0001,200188019001920194019601980200020201,157 in 1900Low: 517

Lost half of its people between 1900 and 1930, then more than doubled.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Every building

Bellaire, building by building, 1893–1929

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.

Bellaire 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

How Bellaire came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bellaire.

Read it all →

The Bellaire post office opened under the name Keno on June 20, 1879, and changed to Bellaire on May 26, 1880. Also, in 1880, Bellaire became the county seat of Antrim County, a position that Elk Rapids had previously had. The Chicago & West Michigan Railroad built a depot in Bellaire in 1891, and the East Jordan & Southern Railroad built another line into the town in 1901. For years, Bellaire was a major railroad center in Antrim County, so the town attracted many industrial corporations. For example, the wooden bowl company (which made wooded utensils) built a factory in Bellaire because of the ease of transportation. Bellaire remained a transportation center until 1962, when the East Jordan and Southern abandoned their trackage through Bellaire, and the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (which was using the former Chicago and West Michigan line) followed suit in 1982. Bellaire is home to t…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bellaire, 1879 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879
    FoundingBellaire is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1908In the archiveCounty House
  5. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1958Born hereRoger Mason is born here
  7. 21st century
  8. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 1,164
By decade

Bellaire, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s2 items
County House1908County HouseCourt House1908Court House
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
Today4 recent
St. Luke the Evangelist-Bellaire2022St. Luke the Evangelist-BellaireBellaire (village), MI location2019Bellaire (village), MI locationBellaire, United States (Unsplash)2015Bellaire, United States (Unsplash)M-88 Intermediate River Bridge2012M-88 Intermediate River Bridge
On the map

Bellaire on the map, 1956 to 1985

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

Bellaire on the 1956 USGS mapBellaire on the 1975 USGS mapBellaire on the 1985 USGS map1956Mancelona 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 Bellaire.

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.

County House
Retake this viewCounty House, 1908

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Bellaire

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Forest Home Township2 historic placesB−Kearney Township1 historic placeB−

Questions about Bellaire’s history

What year was Bellaire founded?

In 1879, according to Wikidata. Bellaire’s post office opened in 1879, and the census of 1880 counted 65 people here.

How does Bellaire rank for history?

Bellaire is more historic than 68% 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 Bellaire?

19% of Bellaire’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1970.

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), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.