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History · Boyne Falls

Boyne Falls’ post office opened in 1874, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1961 on, and the census since 1900.

1874first post office
0on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Boyne Falls’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Boyne Falls began

When was Boyne Falls founded?

1874

The Boyne Falls post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 431 in 19002020 census: 358152 years
Founding year: the first Boyne Falls post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Boyne Falls’ 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.Old housesHalf of Boyne Falls’ homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Boyne Falls’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Boyne Falls’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 viewFlying Duchess at Boyne Falls station: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Boyne Falls came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Boyne Falls.

Read it all →

Boyne Falls was first settled with the arrival of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad in 1874. In the same year, A. D. Carpenter built the first store. A post office opened in Boyne Falls on September 5, 1874, with William Nelson serving as the first postmaster. The community was named by John Miller after the Boyne River, which has a nearby set of waterfalls. Boyne River's name is from a river near Dublin. Boyne Falls incorporated as a village in 1893.

The railway line is operated by the Great Lakes Central Railroad, although the station in Boyne Falls has been closed since 1973.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Boyne Falls, decade by decade

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

1970s1 item
Flying Duchess at Boyne Falls station1976Flying Duchess at Boyne Falls station
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
Today9 recent
St. Augustine-Boyne Falls2022St. Augustine-Boyne FallsM-75 (Michigan highway) southern terminus2022M-75 (Michigan highway) southern terminusBoyne Valley Township Hall, Michigan2022Boyne Valley Township Hall, MichiganBoyne Falls, Michigan village hall2022Boyne Falls, Michigan village hallBoyne Falls, Michigan road signage2022Boyne Falls, Michigan road signageBoyne Falls, Michigan post office2022Boyne Falls, Michigan post officeBoyne Falls, Michigan (July 2022)2022Boyne Falls, Michigan (July 2022)Boyne Falls, MI location2019Boyne Falls, MI locationMIMap-doton-BoyneFalls2005MIMap-doton-BoyneFalls
On the map

Boyne Falls on the map, 1961 to 1986

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

Boyne Falls on the 1961 USGS mapBoyne Falls on the 1986 USGS map1961Boyne Falls 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 Boyne Falls.

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.

Flying Duchess at Boyne Falls station
Retake this viewFlying Duchess at Boyne Falls station, 1976

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Boyne Falls, census by census

01002003004001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 431

Between 199 and 431 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Boyne Falls

Nobody well known was born in Boyne Falls itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Claude ShannonAmerican mathematician and information theorist · b. 1916
Megan BooneAmerican actress · b. 1983
David MalpassAmerican economist · b. 1956
H
Hal SmithAmerican actor · b. 1916
K
Kaila KuhnAmerican freestyle skier · b. 2003
Britta PhillipsAmerican musician · b. 1963

Questions about Boyne Falls’ history

What year was Boyne Falls founded?

The Boyne Falls post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (10), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.