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History · Dollar Bay

Dollar Bay’s post office opened in 1888, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 7 old photos and papers and maps from 1975 on.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
7old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Dollar Bay’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Dollar Bay began

When was Dollar Bay founded?

1888

The Dollar Bay post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,061138 years
Founding year: the first Dollar Bay post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
The story so far

Dollar Bay, in brief

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

Dollar Bay is a census-designated place (CDP) in Houghton County, Michigan, United States. As of the 2020 census, Dollar Bay had a population of 1,061.

Its first post office opened in 1888. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,082 in 2010, 1,061 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Dollar Bay, 1898 to 1975

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1898In the archiveLake Superior Smelter, Loading Copper, Dollar Bay, Mich
  3. 20th century
  4. 1906In the archiveDollar Bay and Portage Lake, Mich. c1906
  5. 1971In the archiveDollar-Bay-1971
  6. 1975On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Dollar Bay, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1900s5 items
Lake Superior Smelter, Loading Copper, Dollar Bay, Mich1898Lake Superior Smelter, Loading Copper, Dollar Bay, Mi…Dollar Bay and Portage Lake, Mich. c1906c. 1906Dollar Bay and Portage Lake, Mich. c1906Lake Superior smelter and dock, Dollar Bay, Michc. 1906Lake Superior smelter and dock, Dollar Bay, MichDollar Bay and Portage Lake, Mich1906Dollar Bay and Portage Lake, MichLake Superior smelter and dock1906Lake Superior smelter and dock
1910s–1960snothing 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
1970s1 item
Dollar-Bay-19711971Dollar-Bay-1971
1980s–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
Date unknown1 to date
Dollar Bay (NBY 10140)Date?Dollar Bay (NBY 10140)
Today5 recent
Dollar Bay, Michigan, welcome sign2018Dollar Bay, Michigan, welcome signDollar Bay, Michigan, Post Office2018Dollar Bay, Michigan, Post OfficeDollar Bay High School2018Dollar Bay High SchoolCoast Guard teams train for ice rescues at conference in northern Michigan 121210-G-ZZ999-93852014Coast Guard teams train for ice rescues at conference…MIMap-doton-DollarBay2005MIMap-doton-DollarBay
On the map

Dollar Bay on the map in 1975

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dollar Bay.

Dollar Bay on the 1975 USGS map1975Hancock 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 Dollar Bay.

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.

Lake Superior Smelter, Loading Copper, Dollar Bay, Mich
Retake this viewLake Superior Smelter, Loading Copper, Dollar Bay, Mich, 1898

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Dollar Bay

Nobody well known was born in Dollar Bay itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
James TolkanAmerican actor · b. 1931
Eugene ParkerAmerican astronomer · b. 1927
Nancy Harkness LoveAmerican aviator · b. 1914
Verna HillieAmerican actress · b. 1914
Rodney PaavolaAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1939
D
Donald G. SaariAmerican mathematician, expert on voting method… · b. 1940
Help out

Finish Dollar Bay’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 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 viewLake Superior Smelter, Loading Copper, …: stand where they stood+15Share 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.

Franklin Township3 historic placesA+Osceola Township1 historic placeA+Houghton8 historic placesATorch Lake Township2 historic placesA−Portage TownshipIts storyB+

Questions about Dollar Bay’s history

What year was Dollar Bay founded?

The Dollar Bay post office opened in 1888, 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 (10), the Library of Congress (2) and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.