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A−History
History · Frankfort

Frankfort’s post office opened in 1869, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them the City of Milwaukee, a National Historic Landmark. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1880.

1869first post office
4on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
8old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Frankfort’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Frankfort began

When was Frankfort founded?

1869

The Frankfort post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 782 in 18802020 census: 1,252157 years

How historic is Frankfort?

A−

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Frankfort’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Frankfort is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Frankfort’s overall grade.
Founding era1869, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194029.1% of homes (±6.4) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register4 listings, 32.7 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 77%
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 Frankfort’s 32.7 sits above most of its state (88% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% 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 (±6.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 Frankfort’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 1,690 in 1960; 1,252 people lived here in 2020.A National Historic Landmark4 places on the National Register, including City of Milwaukee, a National Historic Landmark.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1885 to 1911, drew every building in Frankfort.
★ What stands out · People over time

Frankfort, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,80018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,690

Peaked at 1,690 in 1960; 1,252 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

On the National Register

4 historic places in Frankfort

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmark
1
City of Milwaukee
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1990
City of Milwaukee
Frankfort Land Company HouseNavigation Structures at Frankfort HarborFrankfort North Breakwater LightCity of Milwaukee★
BuildingsStructures★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Italianate1
Utilitarian1
★ Landmark
City of MilwaukeeStructure
Frankfort Land Company HouseItalianate
Navigation Structures at Frankfort HarborUtilitarian
Frankfort North Breakwater LightStructure

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

Every building

Frankfort, building by building, 1885–1911

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.

Frankfort fire insurance map, 1885, sheet 11885Sheet 1 of 6
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 Frankfort came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Frankfort.

Read it all →

Father Jacques Marquette, one of the first Jesuit missionaries to the Great Lakes Indians, may have died and been buried in Frankfort in May 1675. Very limited and inexact records make the death site a matter of considerable debate among historians. Frankfort is one of two locations attributed as the death site by the natives since the earliest settlers arrived in northern Michigan and one of at least two sites claimed by historians. In any case within two years the remains were taken to the church at St. Ignace and given a traditional Indian burial.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Frankfort, 1869 to 1994

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869Post officeThe Frankfort post office opens
  3. 1898Born hereSam Slyfield is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1930In the archiveEast Shore Hotel, Frankfort, Michigan, island comfort -- inland convenience (89524)
  6. 1942In the archiveFrankfort, Michigan. Old-fashioned wooden trundle bed
  7. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 1,690
  9. 1978Born herePaul Edinger is born here
  10. 1990LandmarkCity of Milwaukee named a National Historic Landmark
  11. 1994In the archiveFrankfort Michigan frozen harbor
By decade

Frankfort, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s–1940s5 items
East Shore Hotel, Frankfort, Michigan, island comfort -- inland convenience (89524)c. 1930East Shore Hotel, Frankfort, Michigan, island comfort…Frankfort, Michigan. Old-fashioned wooden trundle bed1942Frankfort, Michigan. Old-fashioned wooden trundle bedFrankfort, Michigan. Fish scale flowers made about 18501942Frankfort, Michigan. Fish scale flowers made about 18…Frankfort, Michigan. Human hair wreath made around 18851942Frankfort, Michigan. Human hair wreath made around 18…Frankfort, Michigan. Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Muehlman who made money in a drugstore in Pekin, Illinois and went to Pa…1942Frankfort, Michigan. Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Muehlm…
1950s–1980snothing 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
1990s1 item
Frankfort Michigan frozen harbor1994Frankfort Michigan frozen harbor
Date unknown2 to date
Car Ferries on Lake Michigan Historical MarkerDate?Car Ferries on Lake Michigan Historical MarkerFrankfort Coast Guard Station, Radio Control House, Second Street at ship channelDate?Frankfort Coast Guard Station, Radio Control House, S…
Today17 recent
Frankfort, MI2026Frankfort, MIFrankfort, MI Welcome Sign2026Frankfort, MI Welcome SignSt. Ann-Frankfort2021St. Ann-FrankfortBenzie Shores District Library2020Benzie Shores District LibraryWaterfront Park (2)2019Waterfront Park (2)Tank Hill2019Tank HillMarket Square Park 2019 May 182019Market Square Park 2019 May 18Lake Michigan2015Lake MichiganOver looking2013Over lookingOver looking Frankfort - panoramio (1)2013Over looking Frankfort - panoramio (1)Little Free Library2013Little Free LibraryFrankfort Land Co. House2013Frankfort Land Co. HouseLaunch at Green Point2009Launch at Green PointReady set GO2008Ready set GO4 of July 200820084 of July 2008Sunset at Greenpoint2007Sunset at GreenpointMIMap-doton-Frankfort2005MIMap-doton-Frankfort
On the map

Frankfort on the map, 1956 to 1983

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

Frankfort on the 1956 USGS mapFrankfort on the 1983 USGS map1956Frankfort 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 Frankfort.

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.

East Shore Hotel, Frankfort, Michigan, island comfort -- inland convenience (89524)
Retake this viewEast Shore Hotel, Frankfort, Michigan, island comfort -- inland convenience (89524), c. 1930

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Frankfort

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

See all →
S
Sam SlyfieldSound engineer · b. 1898
P
Paul EdingerPlayer of American football · b. 1978
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Frankfort’s post office has been open since 1869.

Gone or out of use
Frankfort Stationlocale

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Frankfort’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewEast Shore Hotel, Frankfort, Michigan, …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

ElbertaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGilmore TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCrystal Lake TownshipIts storyC+

Questions about Frankfort’s history

What year was Frankfort founded?

The Frankfort post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Frankfort rank for history?

Frankfort is more historic than 77% 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 Frankfort?

4 listings: 1 building and 3 structures.

How old are the homes in Frankfort?

29% of Frankfort’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1966.

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 (20), the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.