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History · Caspian

Caspian dates to 1901, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1898 on, and the census since 1920.

1901founded
4on the National Register
38%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Caspian’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Caspian began

When was Caspian founded?

1901

Caspian dates its founding to 1901 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 1,912 in 19202020 census: 805125 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1906.The full story ↓

What stands out about Caspian’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18983 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1999. Watch Caspian change.Old housesHalf of Caspian’s homes were built before 1950.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Caspian’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Caspian’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 viewThe common method of removing stones fr…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Caspian on the map, 1898 to 1999

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

Caspian on the 1898 USGS mapCaspian on the 1944 USGS mapCaspian on the 1999 USGS map1898Iron River 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 Caspian.

The story

How Caspian came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Caspian.

Read it all →

The location first received a station on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad in 1884 and has been known by the names of Spring Valley and Newtown. Caspian was founded and platted with the name Palatka in 1901. It was a headquarters for a mining company, Voroner Mining Company. Voroner operated three mines, Baltic, Caspian, and Fogarty mines. With the expansion of the mines, a second adjacent village named Caspian was founded in 1908. The post office moved there. The location was poor and a new adjacent village called New Caspian was formed in 1909. The whole area was incorporated as the village of Caspian in 1918.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Caspian, 1898 to 1937

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901
    FoundingCaspian is established
  5. 1906Born hereAl Sarafiny is born here
  6. 1906Post officeThe Palatka post office opens
  7. 1919Post officeThe Palatka post office closes
  8. 1919Post officeThe Caspian post office opens
  9. 1937In the archiveThe common method of removing stones from cut-over land is by use of the crowbar. Near Ca…
By decade

Caspian, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s2 items
The common method of removing stones from cut-over land is by use of the crowbar. Near Caspian, Michigan1937The common method of removing stones from cut-over la…Untitled photo, possibly related to: The common method of removing stones from cut-over land is by use of the crowbar. …1937Untitled photo, possibly related to: The common metho…
1940s–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
Today5 recent
Caspian, MI location2018Caspian, MI locationMining company house2014Mining company houseItalian Duke of Abruzzi2014Italian Duke of AbruzziCaspian Community Center2014Caspian Community CenterMIMap-doton-Caspian2005MIMap-doton-Caspian
Every building

Caspian, building by building, 1922

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 sheet.

Caspian fire insurance map, 1922, sheet 11922Sheet 1 of 5
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

The common method of removing stones from cut-over land is by use of the crowbar. Near Caspian, Michigan
Retake this viewThe common method of removing stones from cut-over land is by use of the crowbar. Near Caspian, Michigan, 1937

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

4 historic places in Caspian

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Caspian Mine Headframe
Caspian Mine HeadframeItalian Society Duke of Abruzzi HallCaspian Community CenterDober Mining Company House
BuildingsStructures
Caspian Mine HeadframeStructure
Italian Society Duke of Abruzzi HallBuilding
All 4 listings
Caspian Community CenterBuilding · listed 1983Dober Mining Company HouseBuilding · listed 1983

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Caspian, census by census

05001,0001,5002,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,912

Between 805 and 1,912 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Caspian’s post office has been open since 1919. Another post office, Palatka, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Palatka
1906–1919
Caspian
1919–today
19001960today
Gone or out of use
Caspian StationlocaleDober Number 2 Minemine

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Stambaugh Township4 historic placesA−GaastraIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townIron River38 historic placesA−

Questions about Caspian’s history

What year was Caspian founded?

In 1901, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Caspian’s post office opened in 1906, and the census of 1920 counted 1,912 people here.

What is on the National Register in Caspian?

4 listings: 3 buildings and 1 structure.

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 (5), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.