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History · Farwell

Farwell dates to 1870, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is . Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1880.

1870founded
1on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Farwell began

When was Farwell founded?

1870

Farwell dates its founding to 1870 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 521 in 18802020 census: 880156 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1871.The full story ↓

What stands out about Farwell’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 Farwell are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1908, drew every building in Farwell.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Farwell’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Farwell, building by building, 1894–1908

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.

Farwell fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 11894Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How Farwell came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Farwell.

Read it all →

Farwell was founded in 1870 by Edmund Hall, John Van Riper, and George Hitchcock. The Farwell post office opened on January 20, 1871, with George Hitchcock serving as the first postmaster. It was informally platted in 1871 and officially platted the following year by Josiah Littlefield of Ann Arbor. The Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad had plans of expanding into the area on a new route connecting Saginaw to Ludington, which was completed by the end of the decade. The new community was named after New York native Samuel Farwell, who had an interest in the railroad and was a construction contractor. In 1871, Farwell became the first county seat of Clare County but lost the seat of government to Harrison in 1879 after the Farwell courthouse burned down two years earlier. Farwell incorporated as a village in 1879.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Farwell, 1870 to 1959

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870
    FoundingFarwell is established
  3. 1888Born hereEugene L. Dersnah is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1959On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Farwell, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Ladies' Library Association of Farwell 20222022Ladies' Library Association of Farwell 2022Hitchcock House 20222022Hitchcock House 2022Farwell, MI village office2022Farwell, MI village officeFarwell, MI post office2022Farwell, MI post officeFarwell, MI downtown 20222022Farwell, MI downtown 2022MIMap-doton-Farwell2005MIMap-doton-Farwell
On the map

Farwell on the map, 1959 to 1983

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

Farwell on the 1959 USGS mapFarwell on the 1983 USGS map1959Clare 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 Farwell.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Farwell

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
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

Farwell, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 880

Between 422 and 880 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Questions about Farwell’s history

What year was Farwell founded?

In 1870, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Farwell’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1880 counted 521 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 (6), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.