Founding year: the first Blissfield post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Blissfield’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Blissfield is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #13 of 701 in Michigan. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Blissfield’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 Blissfield’s 136 sits above most of its state (95% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 44 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Blissfield’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
During World War II, 16 German POWs, who were working on a sugar beet farm near Blissfield, were killed in an accident when their truck collided with a train as they were returning to Fort Custer. They are now buried at Fort Custer National Cemetery.
According to local legend, Blissfield was home to the first set of Triple Bridges in the world. These three bridges stood directly next to each other and crossed the River Raisin to accommodate train and vehicular travel. The interurban bridge was torn down and the road bridge was replaced with a larger bridge in place of both bridges.
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.
1893Sheet 1 of 1
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Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Blissfield in 1879
Passages that mention Blissfield, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History and biographical record of Lenawee County, Michigan. Containing a history of the organization and early settlement of the county, together with a biographical record of many of the oldest and most prominent settlers and present residents, obtained1879 · page 21Read the page →
Read the text
young man of the party took up some land adjoining him. The nearest settlement to them on the south, was at the village of Blissfield, distance about ten or twelve miles, through heavy timbered land. In 1831 quite a tide of immigration set in to this part of the township, mostly families of the Congregational or Presbyterian persuasion, being thus distinguished from the older or west part of town, which was mainly settled by members of the Society of Friends.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History and Biographical Record of Lenawee County, Michigan (Volume 1)1879 · page 21Read the page →
Read the text
young man of the party took up some land adjoining him. The nearest settlement to them on the south, was at the village of Blissfield, distance about ten or twelve miles, through heavy timbered land. In 1831 quite a tide of immigration set in to this part of the township, mostly families of the Congregational or Presbyterian persuasion, being thus distinguished from the older or west part of town, which was mainly settled by members of the Society of Friends.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History and Biographical Record of Lenawee County, Michigan (Volume 1)1879 · page 30Read the page →
Read the text
only were organized in Lenawee county, under the names of Tecumseh and Logan.” Now under the same territorial enactment, which provided for the organization of those two towns, the organiza¬ tion of the township of Blissfield was authorized, and as will be seen by the historical sketch of that town, prepared by .fames T. Kedzie, and read by him at the semi-centennial gathering at the old Bliss homestead, some two years ago, and which is being published among the papers of your society, the township of Blissfield was organized in
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.
Timeline
Blissfield, 1879 to 1988
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 Blissfield post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Blissfield rank for history?
Blissfield is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns, #13 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 Blissfield?
51% of Blissfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1938.
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), 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.
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