Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Carsonville

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Carsonville

Carsonville’s post office opened in 1884, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1900.

1884first post office
0on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Carsonville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Carsonville began

When was Carsonville founded?

1884

The Carsonville post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 400 in 19002020 census: 465142 years
Founding year: the first Carsonville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Carsonville’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 622 in 1980; 465 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1893 to 1909, drew every building in Carsonville.Old housesHalf of Carsonville’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Carsonville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewCuster Road Bridge, Spanning Black Rive…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Carsonville, census by census

01002003004005006001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 622

Peaked at 622 in 1980; 465 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Every building

Carsonville, building by building, 1893–1909

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.

Carsonville 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 so far

Carsonville, in brief

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

Carsonville is a village in Sanilac County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, Carsonville had a population of 465. The village is situated at 43°25′37″N 82°40′17″W on the boundary between Bridgehampton Township and Washington Township, with about half the village in each. The village began with a store built in 1853 operated by Silas C. Hall, who also became the first postmaster in 1857. The place was initially called Hall's Corners. It was renamed in 1884 after local store-owner and businessman Arthur Carson, who built his first store there in 1864. The village incorporated in 1887.

Its first post office opened in 1884. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 527 to 465 (-12%).

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

Timeline

Carsonville, 1893 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1893Born hereCyrus K. Bettis is born here
  3. 20th century
  4. 1963On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 622
By decade

Carsonville, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Custer Road Bridge, Spanning Black River DrainDate?Custer Road Bridge, Spanning Black River Drain
Today2 recent
The Hi-Way Drive-In movie theater, outside Carsonville, Michigan. Drive-in theaters consist of a large outdoor movie sc…2019The Hi-Way Drive-In movie theater, outside Carsonvill…MIMap-doton-Carsonville2005MIMap-doton-Carsonville
On the map

Carsonville on the map, 1963 to 1984

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

Carsonville on the 1963 USGS mapCarsonville on the 1984 USGS map1963Carsonville sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Carsonville.

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.

Custer Road Bridge, Spanning Black River Drain
Retake this viewCuster Road Bridge, Spanning Black River Drain

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

Retake this view · +15

Questions about Carsonville’s history

What year was Carsonville founded?

The Carsonville post office opened in 1884, 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 (1), the Library of Congress (2), 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.