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BHistory
History · Douglas

Douglas dates to 1851, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Douglas Union School and the Francis Metallic Surfboat. Below: 2 old photos and papers from 1982 on.

1851founded
2on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Douglas’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Douglas began

When was Douglas founded?

1851

Douglas dates its founding to 1851 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1866.

2020 census: 1,378175 years

How historic is Douglas?

B

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1866.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Douglas’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Douglas is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Douglas’ overall grade.
Founding era1851, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194016.2% of homes (±5.0) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register2 listings, 14.0 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 62%
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 Douglas’ 14.0 sits above most of its state (85% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.0 points). Two sources give 1851.

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 Douglas’ 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.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Douglas’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Douglas’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewThe Barrel Drive-in: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Douglas came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Douglas.

Read it all →

Douglas, originally known as Dudleyville, was first settled by European-Americans in 1851 as a lumber mill town. In 1861, residents changed the name to Douglas. Reportedly the name was chosen to honor the American statesman Stephen A. Douglas, but other reports indicate that a relative of the original owner of the land also suggested the name because he came from Douglas, the capital of the Isle of Man. Douglas was incorporated as a village in 1870.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Douglas, 1851 to 1991

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851
    FoundingDouglas is established
  3. 1866Post officeThe Douglas post office opens
  4. 1873Born hereFrank Daniel Gerber is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1982In the archiveThe Barrel Drive-in
  7. 1991In the archiveKirby House Bed and Breakfast ("since 1890"), Center Street
By decade

Douglas, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1980s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s–1990s2 items
The Barrel Drive-in1982The Barrel Drive-inKirby House Bed and Breakfast ("since 1890"), Center Street1991Kirby House Bed and Breakfast ("since 1890"), Center …
Today4 recent
Dr.Asa Goodrich House2014Dr.Asa Goodrich HouseDouglas Union School-Douglas2014Douglas Union School-DouglasLake Shore Chapel2012Lake Shore ChapelDouglas Union School2012Douglas Union School
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 Barrel Drive-in
Retake this viewThe Barrel Drive-in, 1982

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Douglas

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1995
Douglas Union School
Douglas Union SchoolFrancis Metallic Surfboat
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Italian Villa1
Douglas Union SchoolItalian Villa
Francis Metallic SurfboatStructure

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

Places that used to be

Old corners

Douglas’s post office has been open since 1866.

Hamlets and corners on the map
BeachmontDouglas Estates Mobile Home Park

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.

Saugatuck Township1 historic placeC+Saugatuck6 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Douglas’ history

What year was Douglas founded?

In 1851, according to Wikidata. Douglas’ post office opened in 1866.

How does Douglas rank for history?

Douglas is more historic than 62% 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.

What is on the National Register in Douglas?

Two places: the Douglas Union School (listed 1995) and the Francis Metallic Surfboat (2015).

How old are the homes in Douglas?

16% of Douglas’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1992.

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.