Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1857.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cedar Springs’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cedar Springs is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #466 of 701 in Michigan. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cedar Springs’ 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 Cedar Springs’ 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 (±6.3 points). Two sources give 1856.
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 Cedar Springs’ 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.
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
On the map
Cedar Springs on the map, 1918 to 1972
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cedar Springs. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1918Cedar Springs 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 Cedar Springs.
The area was first settled by Robin Hicks as early as 1855, and the first post office was established on February 4, 1857, with Nicholas Hill serving as the first postmaster. The new village was platted in 1859. The Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad built a railway line through the area in 1868 and allowed for the growth of the village, which incorporated in 1871. The name Cedar Springs came from the abundance of cedar trees and springs found throughout the area. The village incorporated as a city in 1959.
Passages that mention Cedar Springs, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History and directory of Kent County, Michigan1870 · page 87Read the page →
Read the text
There were but few inhabitants and but a very limited amount of business in Cedar Springs until 1867, when the railroad was completed to that point. This immediately infused life into the place, and it continued to grow rapidly as long as it was the terminus of the railroad north, which it was for nearly two years.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History and directory of Kent County, Michigan1870 · page 132Read the page →
Read the text
The next road that led out from the place was a section ot the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad from here to Cedar Springs, on which regular trains commenced running on the twenty-third day of December, 1807. Through trains commenced running on this road, fo Fort Wayne, Indiana, on the tenth day of October, 1870; opening a new market for our manufactures, which promises to prove of great importance to the leading branches of industry.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Cedar Springs, 1856 to 1948
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1856, according to Wikidata. Cedar Springs’ post office opened in 1857, and the census of 1880 counted 1,141 people here.
How does Cedar Springs rank for history?
Cedar Springs is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #466 of 701 in Michigan. 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 Cedar Springs?
19% of Cedar Springs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 (5), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
Date?
2020
2020
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