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History · Empire

Empire dates to 1851, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1957 on, and the census since 1900.

1851founded
1on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Empire’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Empire began

When was Empire founded?

1851

Empire dates its founding to 1851 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 609 in 19002020 census: 362175 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1864.The full story ↓

What stands out about Empire’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Empire’s collection

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

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

How Empire came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Empire.

Read it all →

Empire was founded in 1851. It was incorporated as a village in 1895 with E. R. Dailey, the head of the Empire Lumber Company which was the main employer here, as the first president of the village. The city was named after the schooner "Empire", which was icebound in the city during a storm in 1865.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Empire, 1851 to 1984

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851
    FoundingEmpire is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900In the archiveLake Michigan
  5. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1984Born hereLiz Moeggenberg is born here
By decade

Empire, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s4 items
Lake Michigan1900Lake MichiganFrom the scenic turnout1900From the scenic turnoutSleeping Bear, Glen Haven, Mich1900Sleeping Bear, Glen Haven, MichSmall Glen Lake1900Small Glen Lake
1910s–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
Today5 recent
St. Philip Neri-Empire2022St. Philip Neri-EmpireSleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Sign2011Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore SignM-22 Looking North2011M-22 Looking NorthEmpire Michigan Looking North M72 Western Terminus2011Empire Michigan Looking North M72 Western TerminusMIMap-doton-Empire2005MIMap-doton-Empire
On the map

Empire on the map, 1957 to 1998

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

Empire on the 1957 USGS mapEmpire on the 1983 USGS mapEmpire on the 1998 USGS map1957Empire 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 Empire.

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 Michigan
Retake this viewLake Michigan, 1900

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Empire

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts

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

People over time

Empire, census by census

01002003004005006001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 609

Between 251 and 609 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Questions about Empire’s history

What year was Empire founded?

In 1851, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Empire’s post office opened in 1864, and the census of 1900 counted 609 people here.

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 (5), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.