History · Detroit

Detroit has 282 places on the National Register, 12 of them National Historic Landmarks

Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns · #2 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Dated to 1701 (Wikidata), with 36% of its homes built before 1940 and 57 historic districts holding 5,328 contributing buildings. Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, the census since 1820, and every listing on the Register.

1701founded

282on the National Register

36%homes built before 1940

17old photos & papers

28famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Detroit’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Detroit began

When was Detroit founded?

1701

Detroit dates its founding to 1701 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1820.

First census: 1,422 in 18202020 census: 639,111325 years

How historic is Detroit?

A⁺

Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1803.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Detroit’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Detroit is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #2 of 701 in Michigan. All 2 inputs put Detroit near the top nationally; its National Register listings ranks highest.

A⁺

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Detroit’s overall grade.

Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194036.3% of homes (±0.7) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%A National Register282 listings, 5,328 historic buildings, 83.4 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A⁺

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Among the top 1%

NewerOlder

Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)#2 of 701

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Detroit ranks #12 on History.

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 Detroit’s 83.4 sits above most of its state (93% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 5,328 historic buildings outnumber those of 100% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1701.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size.

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 Detroit’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A National Historic Landmark282 places on the National Register, 12 of them National Historic Landmarks.A historic districtThe Rosedale Park Historic District takes in 1,517 historic buildings.Lost villages24 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Detroit, and 4 old place names are still on the map.Mapped building by building10 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1904, drew every building in Detroit.

★ What stands out · On the National Register

282 listings protect 5,328 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 12 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed

282

National Historic Landmarks

Pewabic Pottery

historic buildings protected

5,328

each building in a district counts

first listed

1971

Christ Church, Detroit

BuildingsDistrictsStructuresObjects★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Art Deco19

Queen Anne16

Romanesque16

Colonial Revival16

Commercial Style16

Late Victorian15

★ Landmark

Pewabic PotteryBuilding

★ Landmark

Parke-Davis Research LaboratoryBuilding

★ Landmark

General Motors BuildingBuilt 1922

★ Landmark

Fisher and New Center BuildingsArt Deco

★ Landmark

Fox Theater BuildingVernacular-Indian: Hindu · Built 1928

★ Landmark

Fisher BuildingBuilt 1928

★ Landmark

Guardian BuildingCommercial Skyscraper · Built 1929

★ Landmark

Ford Piquette Avenue PlantLate Victorian

All 282 listings

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Detroit’s post office has been open since 1803. 24 other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Detroit

1803–today

Springwells

1831–1832

Greenfield

1837–1925

Conner's Creek

1855–1893

Spring Wells

1855–1857

Oak

1858–1906

Dalton's Corners

1868–1873

Delray

1870–1906

Leesville

1872–1896

Norris

1873–1891

18001910today

Hamlets and corners on the map

Conners CreekDelrayFort WayneOak

Gone or out of use

Alpha House Historical MarkerparkBirthplace of Doctor Ralph J Bunche Historical MarkerparkBlain HospitalhospitalConners Creek Post Officepost officeDavid Augustus Straker Historical MarkerparkDelray Post Officepost officeDetroit Memorial Hospital Historical MarkerparkDetroit Plaindealer Historical MarkerparkDoctors HospitalhospitalEarly Detroit 1701-1760 Historical MarkerparkGreenfield Post Officepost officeLeesville Post Officepost officeMercy HospitalhospitalMichigan State Medical Society Historical MarkerparkNorth Detroit Post Officepost officeNorth Detroit StationlocaleOak Post Officepost officeOak Stationlocale

19cemeteries and burying grounds inside Detroit

Assumption Grotto CatholicBnai - DavidElmwoodEvergreenEvergreenFordForest HillForest LawnGethsemaneGrand LawnHoly CrossMount ElliottMount HazelMount OlivetRedfordSacred HeartTrinity LutheranWoodlawnWoodmere

See all 19

Assumption Grotto Catholic Cemetery · Bnai - David Cemetery · Elmwood Cemetery · Evergreen Cemetery · Evergreen Cemetery · Ford Cemetery · Forest Hill Cemetery · Forest Lawn Cemetery · Gethsemane Cemetery · Grand Lawn Cemetery · Holy Cross Cemetery · Mount Elliott Cemetery · Mount Hazel Cemetery · Mount Olivet Cemetery · Redford Cemetery · Sacred Heart Cemetery · Trinity Lutheran Cemetery · Woodlawn Cemetery · Woodmere Cemetery

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

The story

How Detroit came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Detroit.

Read it all →

The Detroit River basin was inhabited by Paleo-Indian hunter-gatherers as early as 11,000 years ago, followed by successive ancient cultures, including Woodland mound-building societies. By the time of European contact, the region was a dynamic borderland inhabited by various Iroquoian and Anishinaabe nations. In the Ojibwe language, the area is called Waawiiyaataanong, which translates to "where the river bends" or "where the water curves around".

ChaptersIndigenous history French era (1701–1760)British era (1760–1796)Early American era (1796–1900)Early 20th century Late 20th century 21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Detroit, 1896–1912

Passages that mention Detroit, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Colonel Kallman 's special engineering service to the city of Detroit has been such as has called forth the gratification and pride of her citizens. During 1887-9 the Colonel supervised the erection of the bridge connecting the city of Detroit with Belle Isle, and several years later that of the be… — **History of Detroit, a chronicle of its progress, its industries, its institutions, and the people of the fair city of the Straits**1912 · page 907Read the page →
Read the text
Colonel Kallman 's special engineering service to the city of Detroit has been such as has called forth the gratification and pride of her citizens. During 1887-9 the Colonel supervised the erection of the bridge connecting the city of Detroit with Belle Isle, and several years later that of the beautiful iron ornamental bridges on the island itself. In 1897 Mayor Hazen S. Pingree appointed him commissioner of public works of the city of Detroit and this continued until 1901, when the Colonel's service in this capacity terminated as a result of the famous
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Mr. Carmichael was reared in Indiana and received his education in the public schools of his community. He learned the printing trade and followed newspaper workfor many years, principally on the staffs of the different Indianapolis newspapers. He first came to Detroit in 1889, spending some time o… — **History of Detroit, a chronicle of its progress, its industries, its institutions, and the people of the fair city of the Straits**1912 · page 1210Read the page →
Read the text
Mr. Carmichael was reared in Indiana and received his education in the public schools of his community. He learned the printing trade and followed newspaper workfor many years, principally on the staffs of the different Indianapolis newspapers. He first came to Detroit in 1889, spending some time on the city newspapers, and then sought other fields of journalistic work, but returning to Detroit in 1893, since which time he has made his home in this city. He was engaged in newspaper work in Detroit chiefly on the staff of the Evening Journal until about
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

**"Cadillac's village", or, "Detroit under Cadillac"**1896 · page 16Read the page →
Read the text
est on which I desire to add a few answer the oft repeated question of "Who was the first white man at Detroit?" Not who were the first persons passing through the strait, but who first landed at Detroit with a determination to make that place his future home? This question
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

**"Cadillac's village", or, "Detroit under Cadillac"**1896Read the page →
Read the text
Among the many suggestions for the proposed bicentenary of the founding of Detroit, little has been advanced that might be considered ijersonal to the illustrious Frenchman, who with his band of hardy adventurers on the 23d day of July, 1701, landed where the city of Detroit now stands.
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

Detroit, 1701 to 1929

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

18th century
1701
FoundingDetroit is established
19th century
1803Post officeThe Detroit post office opens
1821In the archiveDetroit Roman Catholic Cathedral 1821
1831Post officeThe Springwells post office opens
1832Post officeThe Springwells post office closes
1837Post officeThe Greenfield post office opens
1853In the archiveFrederick Cohen, Joseph Campau House (1815), 1853
1860In the archiveEureka Iron & Steel Works 1860
1872In the archiveThe City of Detroit (from Canada Shore)
1880In the archivePalmer Park lighthouse - 4a03659a
1890In the archiveAsherBBatesDetroit
20th century
1902Born hereCharles Lindbergh is born here
1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1922BuiltGeneral Motors Building is built
1925Post officeThe Greenfield post office closes
1928BuiltFox Theater Building is built
1928BuiltFisher Building is built
1929BuiltGuardian Building is built

By decade

Detroit, decade by decade

6 decades in the archive, from the 1820s to the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1820s–1860s7 items

1821Detroit Roman Catholic Cathedral 1821Document

1853Frederick Cohen, Joseph Campau House (1815), 1853

1854Biddle House restaurant menu (1854)

1860Eureka Iron & Steel Works 1860

1863Color portrait of Joseph Campau

1863Joseph Campau (1769-1863)

Portion of Detroit dry dock.Alternate Title: Stereoscopic gems of the city of Detroit and vicinity

c. 1868Portion of Detroit dry dock.Alternate Title: Stereosc…

1870s–1880s7 items

1872The City of Detroit (from Canada Shore)

1874WilliamCDuncanDetroit2

1874WilliamWWheatonDetroit

1880Palmer Park lighthouse - 4a03659a

1880Detroit, Michigan

1884Seal of Detroit, Michigan (1884)

1889OliverMoultonHydeDetroit

1890s3 items

1890AsherBBatesDetroit

1890Casino - Palmer Park Detroit - 4a07962a

1890CharlesCTrowbridgeDetroit

1900s–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

On the map

Detroit on the map, 1905 to 1980

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

1905Detroit 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 Detroit.

Every building

Detroit, building by building, 1884–1904

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.

Detroit fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 1

1884Sheet 1 of 76

Edition

Sheets

+75 more at the Library of Congress

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.

Retake this viewFrederick Cohen, Joseph Campau House (1815), 1853, 1853

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

Retake this view · +15

People over time

Detroit, census by census

Peaked at 1,849,568 in 1950; 639,111 people lived here in 2020.

21 censuses, 1820–2020.

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

Famous people

28 famous people were born in Detroit

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →

Francis Ford CoppolaAmerican filmmaker · b. 1939

Charles LindberghAmerican aviator, author, inventor, explorer, a… · b. 1902

Diana RossAmerican singer and actress · b. 1944

Alice CooperAmerican singer · b. 1948

Steve BallmerAmerican businessman, former chief executive of… · b. 1956

Ellen BurstynAmerican actress · b. 1932

Help out

Finish Detroit’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewFrederick Cohen, Joseph Campau House (1…: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Dearborn9 historic placesA River Rouge1 historic placeB⁺Grosse Pointe Park2 historic placesB Dearborn HeightsIts storyD MelvindaleIts storyC⁻Harper WoodsIts storyD Redford Township1 historic placeB Lincoln Park1 historic placeC⁺Warren3 historic placesB Grosse Pointe WoodsIts storyC⁻

Questions about Detroit’s history

What year was Detroit founded?

In 1701, according to Wikidata. Detroit’s post office opened in 1803, and the census of 1820 counted 1,422 people here.

How does Detroit rank for history?

Detroit is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #2 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.

What is on the National Register in Detroit?

282 listings, 12 of them National Historic Landmarks: 217 buildings, among them the Pewabic Pottery (a National Historic Landmark since 1991) and the Christ Church, Detroit (listed 1971, the first), 57 historic districts with 5,043 contributing buildings, 4 structures, and 3 objects. 5,328 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Detroit?

36% of Detroit’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1947.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (16), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (282), 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.

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Detroit has 282 places on the National Register, 12 of them National Historic Landmarks

How Detroit began

When was Detroit founded?

How historic is Detroit?

What drives Detroit’s History grade

What stands out about Detroit’s past

282 listings protect 5,328 historic buildings

Architectural styles listings

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

How Detroit came to be

What they wrote about Detroit, 1896–1912

Detroit, 1701 to 1929

Detroit, decade by decade

Detroit on the map, 1905 to 1980

Detroit, building by building, 1884–1904

Stand where they stood

Detroit, census by census

28 famous people were born in Detroit

Finish Detroit’s story

History across the town line

Questions about Detroit’s history

Memory lane

Where this page comes from