The story
Read it all →How Colon came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Colon.
Colon was platted in 1844. It was incorporated as a village in 1904.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
A−History
History · Colon
Colon’s post office opened in 1836, and 40% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 76% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1961 on, and the census since 1860.
1836first post office
0on the National Register
40%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Quick answers
How Colon began
When was Colon founded?
1836
The Colon post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 311 in 18602020 census: 1,199190 years
How historic is Colon?
A−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 76% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Colon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Colon’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Colon is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Colon’s overall grade.
Founding era1836, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194040.0% of homes (±9.0) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%ANational RegisterNo listings counted · typical MI town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 76%
NewerOlder
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 Colon’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 B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Colon’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Colon’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Colon’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Then & now
The same spot, 140 years apart
Drag across each photo to compare.
18772017Timeline
Colon, 1867 to 1961
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1867
Born hereIma Winchell Stacy is born here - 1877
In the archiveFarrand Hall - 20th century
- 1961
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Colon, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
2021
2017
2017
2017
2014
2005On the map
Colon on the map, 1961 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Colon. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1961Colon sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Colon.
People over time
Colon, census by census
Between 311 and 1,227 people in every census since 1860.
16 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Colon’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Colon’s history
What year was Colon founded?
The Colon post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Colon rank for history?
Colon is more historic than 76% 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 Colon?
40% of Colon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1953.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (7), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.