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BHistory
History · Fremont

Fremont dates to 1855, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns · #315 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

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

1855founded
1on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Fremont began

When was Fremont founded?

1855

Fremont dates its founding to 1855 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 902 in 18802020 census: 4,516171 years

How historic is Fremont?

B

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1856.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Fremont’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fremont is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #315 of 701 in Michigan. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fremont’s overall grade.
Founding era1855, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194016.5% of homes (±6.2) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register1 listing, 2.2 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 56%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 55%

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 Fremont’s 2.2 sits above most of its state (69% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.2 points). Two sources give 1855.

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 Fremont’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 Fremont are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Fremont, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1921, drew every building in Fremont.Old housesHalf of Fremont’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Fremont’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Fremont’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Fremont’s post office has been open since 1882. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Weaversville
1856–1862
Fremont Centre
1862–1882
Fremont
1882–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Country View Estates Mobile Home ParkHill's Mobile Home ParkMeadowview Village Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Fremont Stationlocale
1cemetery inside Fremont
Maple Grove

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

Every building

Fremont, building by building, 1894–1921

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.

Fremont fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 11894Sheet 1 of 4
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 Fremont came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fremont.

Read it all →

The first inhabitants of the Fremont area were Native Americans. A group of settlers led by Daniel Weaver first settled the area in 1855, with the Weaver homestead serving as the first post office and public school. In November 1855, Fremont Township was established and named in honor of John C. Frémont, western explorer and Republican Party candidate for United States President. Weaver and his fellow settlers cleared the dense timber in order to farm. Early in the 1870s, Dutch immigrant families came from Holland and Muskegon, Michigan; and Fremont continues to recognize its early Dutch heritage in local festivals and pageants.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Fremont in 1884

Passages that mention Fremont, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Rather more than half of the village of Fremont is situated in Sheridan Township, on section 2. The Chicago & West Michigan railroad crosses sections 2, 3, 4, 9, 8 and 7.
Portrait and biographical album of Newaygo County, Michigan1884 · page 566Read the page →
Read the text

Rather more than half of the village of Fremont is situated in Sheridan Township, on section 2. The Chicago & West Michigan railroad crosses sections 2, 3, 4, 9, 8 and 7.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Fremont, 1855 to 1982

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855
    FoundingFremont is established
  3. 1856Post officeThe Weaversville post office opens
  4. 1862Post officeThe Weaversville post office closes
  5. 1862Post officeThe Fremont Centre post office opens
  6. 1882Post officeThe Fremont Centre post office closes
  7. 1882Post officeThe Fremont post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1901Born hereAlbert K. Stevens is born here
  10. 1933Born hereBert Zagers is born here
  11. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1961Born hereGlenn Meyers is born here
  13. 1982Born hereJoe Berger is born here
By decade

Fremont, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Amish road sign2018Amish road signPioneer Sugar float2017Pioneer Sugar floatGerber Baby Food Festival parade 012017Gerber Baby Food Festival parade 01Cornelius Gerber Cottage2015Cornelius Gerber CottageFremont Lake Park welcome2014Fremont Lake Park welcomeFremont High School2014Fremont High SchoolGerber Baby Foods factory, Fremont, Michigan, 1940s2013Gerber Baby Foods factory, Fremont, Michigan, 1940sFremont Community Digester Groundbreaking2011Fremont Community Digester GroundbreakingBranstrom Park2010Branstrom Park2010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBookBaby Food Festival parade 20092009Baby Food Festival parade 2009Gerber Baby Food Festival queen float2003Gerber Baby Food Festival queen float
On the map

Fremont on the map, 1958 to 1985

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

Fremont on the 1958 USGS mapFremont on the 1985 USGS map1958Fremont 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 Fremont.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Fremont

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
first listed
2013
Fremont High School
Fremont High School
Buildings
Fremont High SchoolBuilding

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

People over time

Fremont, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,000188019001920194019601980200020204,516

Grew from 902 people in 1880 to 4,516 in 2020, 5 times over.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

9 famous people were born in Fremont

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

See all →
G
Glenn MeyersAmerican archer · b. 1961
Joe BergerAmerican football player · b. 1982
Bert ZagersAmerican football player · b. 1933
Albert K. StevensAmerican educator · b. 1901
J
Jon BumsteadAmerican politician · b. 1957
Lorie MastersAmerican attorney, public servant, and politici… · b. 1954
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Sheridan TownshipIts storyC+Dayton TownshipIts storyB−

Questions about Fremont’s history

What year was Fremont founded?

In 1855, according to Wikidata. Fremont’s post office opened in 1856, and the census of 1880 counted 902 people here.

How does Fremont rank for history?

Fremont is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #315 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.

What is on the National Register in Fremont?

One place: the Fremont High School (listed 2013).

How old are the homes in Fremont?

17% of Fremont’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1960.

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 (12), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.