Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1849.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Fowler’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fowler is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fowler’s overall grade.
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 Fowler’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.
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 (±19.2 points). Two sources give 1849.
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 →
What stands out about Fowler’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Originally called "Dallas", Fowler was created when Robert Highman, Chief Engineer of the Detroit, Grand Haven, and Milwaukee Railroad, and E.A Wales acquired a tract of land along the railroad right-of-way in 1857. The Detroit, Grand Haven, and Milwaukee railroad completed the rail line though the area in July and August 1857. Dallas was later changed to Isabella and subsequently Fowler.
A few years after the founding of Dallas, the town had little economic growth and was subsequently moved to a tract of land 1/10 of a mile west of the original tract, owned by John N. Fowler and in 1869 the name was changed to "Fowler". The village was originally settled in a swampy area and the move was driven by the lack of economic growth.
Grew from 321 people in 1880 to 1,226 in 2020, 3 times over.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Fowler’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Fowler’s history
What year was Fowler founded?
In 1849, according to Wikidata. Fowler’s post office opened in 1849, and the census of 1880 counted 321 people here.
How does Fowler rank for history?
Fowler is more historic than 75% 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.
How old are the homes in Fowler?
36% of Fowler’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±19.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1960.
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 (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people 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.
Date?
2019
2019
2005