Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 41% of U.S. towns · #452 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1920.
Ferndale dates its founding to 1918 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1920.
More historic than 41% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ferndale is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #452 of 701 in Michigan. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 Ferndale’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (32% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ferndale’s history is told.
Peaked at 31,347 in 1960; 19,190 people lived here in 2020.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Ferndale’s Wikipedia page.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ferndale. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Ferndale.
From Wikipedia’s history of Ferndale.
Native Americans were original inhabitants of the area now known as the City of Ferndale. In the 1800s farmers began cultivating the land. After the invention of the automobile and the development of the automotive assembly line, the population of Ferndale increased rapidly.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereRon Carter is born here
Born hereWilliam Messner-Loebs is born here
In the archiveRadio City
Born hereT. J. Lang is born hereOne decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
2024Renaissance Vineyard Church
2023St. Luke's
2022Downtown Ferndale, Michigan (2022)
2020An aerial view of the Detroit, Michigan, suburb of Fe…
2020Aerial view of a portion of the metropolitan Detroit,…
2020Aerial view of a portion of the metropolitan Detroit,…
2020Downtown Ferndale MI (2020)
2016Ferndale Downtown
2016Ferndale City Hall, Summer 2016
2015Garbutt Park
2014Woodward and 8 Mile
2014Tri Level Intersection Marker
2014Ferndale School
2014Ferndale School Marker
2014Carver Elementary School Marker
2006DowntownNo then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Ferndale’s page.
Retake this view · +15Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1918, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1920 counted 2,640 people here.
Ferndale is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #452 of 701 in Michigan. 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.
42% of Ferndale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1945.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (14), the Library of Congress (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
