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History · Brutus

Brutus’ post office opened in 1874, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1958 on.

1874first post office
0on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Brutus began

When was Brutus founded?

1874

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

2020 census: 202152 years
Founding year: the first Brutus post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Brutus’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Brutus are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Brutus’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Brutus, in brief

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

Brutus is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Emmet County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, Brutus had a population of 202. Brutus is located within Maple River Township. It was established with the building of an inn called the Brutus House in 1874.

Its first post office opened in 1874. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 218 to 202 (-7%).

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Brutus on the map, 1958 to 1983

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

Brutus on the 1958 USGS mapBrutus on the 1975 USGS mapBrutus on the 1983 USGS map1958Petoskey 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 Brutus.

Famous people

Famous people close to Brutus

Nobody well known was born in Brutus 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
Bruce CattonAmerican historian and journalist · b. 1899
R
Robert Klark GrahamAmerican eugenicist · b. 1906

Questions about Brutus’ history

What year was Brutus founded?

The Brutus 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 →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.