The East Jordan post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Nelsonville (1869) and South Arm (1874), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 731 in 18902020 census: 2,239148 years
How historic is East Jordan?
B−
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first East Jordan post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives East Jordan’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, East Jordan is more historic than 54% 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 East Jordan’s 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 East Jordan’s 9.9 sits above most of its state (82% 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 B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.4 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 East Jordan’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area was first settled by Canadian William Empey in 1873. He built the first store here in 1874 at the mouth of the Jordan River at the southernmost point of Lake Charlevoix. He became the first postmaster when the post office opened on May 31, 1878. The community absorbed the nearby village of South Arm and incorporated as the village of East Jordan in 1887. It incorporated as a city in 1911.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
East Jordan, census by census
Between 731 and 2,516 people in every census since 1890.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on East Jordan’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about East Jordan’s history
What year was East Jordan founded?
The East Jordan post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does East Jordan rank for history?
East Jordan is more historic than 54% 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 East Jordan?
Two places: the East Jordan Lumber Company Store Building (listed 2008) and the Votruba Block (2008).
How old are the homes in East Jordan?
11% of East Jordan’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1978.
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, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
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