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History · Grand Marais

Grand Marais’ post office opened in 1885, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1968 on.

1885first post office
2on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Grand Marais’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Grand Marais began

When was Grand Marais founded?

1885

The Grand Marais post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 234141 years
Founding year: the first Grand Marais post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Grand Marais’ 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.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Grand Marais’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewGrand Marais Harbor: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Grand Marais came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Grand Marais.

Read it all →

The name Grand Marais (French: great marsh) is a reference to the large, shallow harbor. French explorers and fur traders from the time of New France used the word "marais" to mean "harbor of refuge" as well as "marsh."

A breakwater was later built that extends from the bay into Lake Superior. The Grand Marais Outer Range Light is at its end, and the Fresnel lens is still operative. It is one of only 70 such lenses that remain operational in the United States; 16 of these are in use on the Great Lakes, eight of which are in Michigan. Many controversies in the little town relate to the costs of dredging and breakwall-repair operations to keep the harbor functioning. See Grand Marais Harbor of Refuge Inner and Outer Lights.

ChaptersWe Hear You America contest

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Grand Marais, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s1 item
Grand Marais Harbor1986Grand Marais Harbor
1990snothing 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
Today5 recent
Teenie Weenie Barrel 32008Teenie Weenie Barrel 3Teenie Weenie Barrel 12008Teenie Weenie Barrel 1Pickle Barrel House interior2008Pickle Barrel House interiorM-77 Heading North2008M-77 Heading NorthGrand Marais 12002Grand Marais 1
On the map

Grand Marais on the map, 1968 to 1985

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

Grand Marais on the 1968 USGS mapGrand Marais on the 1985 USGS map1968Grand Marais sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Grand Marais.

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.

Grand Marais Harbor
Retake this viewGrand Marais Harbor, 1986

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Grand Marais

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Grand Marais

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

See all →
L
Len St. JeanPlayer of American football · b. 1941
F. Robert EdwardsAmerican politician · b. 1940
Martin R. BradleyAmerican politician · b. 1888
R
Rob RubickPlayer of American football · b. 1960
J
John MillerAmerican author (20th century)

Questions about Grand Marais’ history

What year was Grand Marais founded?

The Grand Marais post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.