Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1868.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Carson City’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Carson City is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Carson City’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 Carson City’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.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±16.8 points). Two sources give 1866.
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 Carson City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Carson City was first platted in 1866 on land owned by R. M. Abbott, Delia Miner, and Hiram T. Sherman, and recorded in 1871. The first lot was sold to Thomas Scott and two nephews, John and Thomas LaDue, in 1867. With the corporate name Scott & LaDue, they built a sawmill in 1868 and a grist mill in 1870. The post office from North Shade in Gratiot County was transferred to this location on August 3, 1868, with Hiram T. Sherman as the first postmaster. The name "Carson City" was given to the post office by Thomas Scott, who had been in Carson City, Nevada, during the gold and silver mining boom days. Carson City incorporated as a village in 1887 and as a city in 1960. The first mayor of Carson City was John T. Hallett.
In 1866, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Carson City’s post office opened in 1868, and the census of 1880 counted 709 people here.
How does Carson City rank for history?
Carson City is more historic than 54% 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 Carson City?
36% of Carson City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±16.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1950.
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 (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
Date?
2020
2005
