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B+History
History · Gibraltar

Gibraltar dates to 1811, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns · #226 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Most of Gibraltar was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Its Register listing is the Gibraltar Road-Waterway Canal Bridge. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1906 on, and the census since 1960.

1811founded
1on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Gibraltar began

When was Gibraltar founded?

1811

Gibraltar dates its founding to 1811 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1960.

First census: 2,196 in 19602020 census: 4,997215 years

How historic is Gibraltar?

B+

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1837.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Gibraltar’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gibraltar is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #226 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gibraltar’s overall grade.
Founding era1811, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19408.6% of homes (±5.3) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 2.1 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 66%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 68%

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 Gibraltar’s 2.1 sits above most of its state (69% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1811.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.3 points).

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Gibraltar’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19068 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1981. Watch Gibraltar change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Gibraltar.Deep rootsEstablished in 1811: 215 years of Gibraltar.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gibraltar’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Gibraltar on the map, 1906 to 1981

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

Gibraltar on the 1906 USGS mapGibraltar on the 1912 USGS mapGibraltar on the 1929 USGS mapGibraltar on the 1936 USGS mapGibraltar on the 1952 USGS mapGibraltar on the 1967 USGS mapGibraltar on the 1973 USGS mapGibraltar on the 1981 USGS map1906Wyandotte 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 Gibraltar.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Gibraltar had its own post office from 1900 to 1910. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gibralter
1837–1900
Woodbury
1838–1839
Gibraltar
1900–1910
18301930today
Gone or out of use
Gibraltar Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Gibraltar
Gibraltar

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

The story

How Gibraltar came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gibraltar.

Read it all →

Gibraltar was first settled as early as 1811 and later platted on March 14, 1837, by trustees of the Gibralter & Flat Rock Company. The community received its first post office under the name "Gibralter" on October 2, 1837. The post office was renamed to Woodbury on December 8, 1838, but renamed back to Gibralter on May 13, 1839. The spelling was changed to "Gibraltar" on December 19, 1900, until it was discontinued entirely on January 31, 1910. The community of Gibraltar was originally part of Brownstown Township. It incorporated as a village in 1954 and gained autonomy when it became a city in 1961.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Gibraltar in 1889

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

New York as staves, or used in shipbuilding at Trenton. For several years he was also engaged in building docks at Detroit, Windsor, Springwells, Trenton, Sandwich, Gibraltar, and Grosse Isle. In 1859, with Charles Mears of Chicago, having previously purchased large tracts of land on White River an…
The History Of Detroit And Michigan1889 · page 1230Read the page →
Read the text

New York as staves, or used in shipbuilding at Trenton. For several years he was also engaged in building docks at Detroit, Windsor, Springwells, Trenton, Sandwich, Gibraltar, and Grosse Isle. In 1859, with Charles Mears of Chicago, having previously purchased large tracts of land on White River and White Lake, they laid out the village of Whitehall, in Muskegon County. Through a con-

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

Gibraltar, 1811 to 1910

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1811
    FoundingGibraltar is established
  3. 1837Post officeThe Gibralter post office opens
  4. 1838Post officeThe Woodbury post office opens
  5. 1839Post officeThe Woodbury post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1900Post officeThe Gibralter post office closes
  8. 1900Post officeThe Gibraltar post office opens
  9. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1910Post officeThe Gibraltar post office closes
By decade

Gibraltar, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
A narrative of the battle of Brownstown - which was fought on the 9th of August, 1812, during the campaign of the north…Date?A narrative of the battle of Brownstown - which was f…Book
Today8 recent
Late Fall Over Marauder Stadium2025Late Fall Over Marauder StadiumHumbug Island (May 2021)2021Humbug Island (May 2021)Gibraltar, MI location2019Gibraltar, MI locationGibraltar, MI city hall2019Gibraltar, MI city hallGibraltar Road2019Gibraltar RoadGibraltar, Michigan2015Gibraltar, MichiganGibraltar, Michigan marina, 20112011Gibraltar, Michigan marina, 2011MIMap-doton-Gibraltar2005MIMap-doton-Gibraltar
On the National Register

1 historic place in Gibraltar

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
2000
Gibraltar Road-Waterway Canal Bridge
Gibraltar Road-Waterway Canal Bridge
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Concrete T-Beam Bridge1
Gibraltar Road-Waterway Canal BridgeConcrete T-Beam Bridge

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

People over time

Gibraltar, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,50019601980200020204,997

Grew from 2,196 people in 1960 to 4,997 in 2020.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Gibraltar

Nobody well known was born in Gibraltar itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Christie BrinkleyAmerican model and actress · b. 1954
D
David BurtkaAmerican actor and professional chef · b. 1975
NinjaAmerican livestreamer and vlogger · b. 1991
Lee MajorsAmerican actor · b. 1939
Garrett ClaytonAmerican actor, singer and dancer · b. 1991
Dann FlorekAmerican actor · b. 1950
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Brownstown Township1 historic placeB−Grosse Ile Township6 historic placesB

Questions about Gibraltar’s history

What year was Gibraltar founded?

In 1811, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Gibraltar’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1960 counted 2,196 people here.

How does Gibraltar rank for history?

Gibraltar is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #226 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 Gibraltar?

One place: the Gibraltar Road-Waterway Canal Bridge (listed 2000).

How old are the homes in Gibraltar?

9% of Gibraltar’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1975.

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 (9), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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 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.