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A−History
History · Evart

Evart’s post office opened in 1870, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 41 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1880.

1870first post office
1on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Evart’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Evart began

When was Evart founded?

1870

The Evart post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1871.

First census: 1,302 in 18802020 census: 1,742156 years

How historic is Evart?

A−

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Evart post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1871.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Evart’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Evart is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Evart’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194028.2% of homes (±6.0) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 41 historic buildings, 246 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 82%
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 Evart’s 246 sits above most of its state (97% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 41 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1871 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 Evart’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Evart Downtown Historic District takes in 41 historic buildings.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1893 to 1920, drew every building in Evart.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Evart’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Evart’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 viewPlat book of Osceola County, Michigan: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

1 listing protects 41 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
41
each building in a district counts
first listed
2025
Evart Downtown Historic District
Evart Downtown Historic District
Districts
All 1 listings
Evart Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2025

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

Every building

Evart, building by building, 1893–1920

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Evart fire insurance map, 1893, sheet 11893Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Evart came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Evart.

Read it all →

The area was first settled by Civil War veteran Perry "Frank" Everts when he bought 80 acres (32 ha) of land. When the community began to grow in 1870, it was named after him but misspelled. The misspelling of "Evart" was made official when a post office was first established here on August 16, 1870. Orlando Windsor served as the first postmaster. Evart was platted in 1872 by James Kennedy and Delos Blodgett, and the community incorporated as a village the same year. It later incorporated as a city in 1938.

The Evart Downtown Historic District was included on the National Register of Historic Places on August 11, 2025 and is the county's only listing on the national registry.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Evart, 1870 to 1959

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Post officeThe Evart post office opens
  3. 1876Born hereDeane W. Kelley is born here
  4. 1881Born hereWish Egan is born here
  5. 1886Born hereWib Smith is born here
  6. 1889Born hereJoseph William Guyton is born here
  7. 20th century
  8. 1900In the archivePlat book of Osceola County, Michigan
  9. 1939In the archiveEvart MI 1939
  10. 1959On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Evart, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1930s2 items
Plat book of Osceola County, Michigan1900Plat book of Osceola County, MichiganEvart MI 19391939Evart MI 1939
1940s–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
Today16 recent
Osceola Township, Osceola County, Michigan2026Osceola Township, Osceola County, MichiganJoseph Guyton historic marker22026Joseph Guyton historic marker2Joseph Guyton historic marker12026Joseph Guyton historic marker1Guyton Park2026Guyton ParkEvart, Michigan (July 2026)2026Evart, Michigan (July 2026)Evart, MI post office2026Evart, MI post officeEvart, MI city hall2026Evart, MI city hallEvart Township, Michigan2026Evart Township, MichiganEvart Municipal Airport (Michigan)2026Evart Municipal Airport (Michigan)Evart High School (Michigan)2026Evart High School (Michigan)Sacred Heart-Evart2020Sacred Heart-EvartNorth Evart United Methodist Church2015North Evart United Methodist ChurchJoseph W. Guyton2015Joseph W. GuytonTedSemanHighway2009TedSemanHighwayMIMap-doton-Evart2005MIMap-doton-EvartTedsemanheadstone2004Tedsemanheadstone
On the map

Evart on the map, 1959 to 1983

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

Evart on the 1959 USGS mapEvart on the 1983 USGS map1959Evart 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 Evart.

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.

Plat book of Osceola County, Michigan
Retake this viewPlat book of Osceola County, Michigan, 1900

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Evart, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,945

Between 1,269 and 1,945 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Evart

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
J
Joseph William GuytonUS Army soldier · b. 1889
D
Deane W. KelleyAmerican football coach · b. 1876
Wib SmithAmerican baseball player · b. 1886
W
Wish EganAmerican baseball player · b. 1881
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Evart’s post office has been open since 1870.

Gone or out of use
Evart Stationlocale

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.

Evart TownshipIts storyCOsceola TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Evart’s history

What year was Evart founded?

The Evart post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1871.

How does Evart rank for history?

Evart is more historic than 82% 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 Evart?

One place: the Evart Downtown Historic District (listed 2025).

How old are the homes in Evart?

28% of Evart’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1965.

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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.