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Eastport, MIPhoto: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0
–Not graded
History · Eastport

Eastport’s post office opened in 1873

Most of Eastport was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: maps from 1954 on.

1873first post office
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
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Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Eastport began

When was Eastport founded?

1873

The Eastport post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 206153 years
Founding year: the first Eastport post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Eastport’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Eastport are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Eastport’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Eastport came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Eastport.

Read it all →

The area was settled by lumberman Murdock Andress in 1863, and a hotel was built in 1869. A post office named Wilson opened on March 29, 1872. It was renamed Eastport on September 8, 1873. The community became a popular shipping area along the east coast Grand Traverse Bay and the northern shores of Torch Lake. The name Eastport was derived from its eastern location along the bay, which was directly across the bay from Northport.

The community of Eastport was listed as a newly-organized census-designated place for the 2010 census, meaning it now has officially defined boundaries and population statistics for the first time.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Eastport on the map, 1954 to 1983

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

Eastport on the 1954 USGS mapEastport on the 1983 USGS map1954Central Lake 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 Eastport.

Famous people

Famous people close to Eastport

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

See all →
Scott LeavittAmerican politician · b. 1879
M
Milo AllisonAmerican baseball player · b. 1890
Roger MasonAmerican baseball player · b. 1958
Joe MaddockAmerican football player and coach · b. 1877
N
Nathan ScherrerAmerican film producer · b. 1988
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Torch Lake TownshipIts storyC−Banks TownshipIts storyB−Central Lake TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Eastport’s history

What year was Eastport founded?

The Eastport post office opened in 1873, 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 →
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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 Wikipedia 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.