Grosse Pointe Farms dates to 1893, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 84% of U.S. towns · #108 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
13 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 28 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1898.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Grosse Pointe Farms’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Grosse Pointe Farms is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #108 of 701 in Michigan. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Grosse Pointe Farms’ 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 Grosse Pointe Farms’ 46.4 sits above most of its state (90% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 46 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% 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 (±5.2 points). Two sources give 1893.
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 Grosse Pointe Farms’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
On the map
Grosse Pointe Farms on the map, 1905 to 1983
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Grosse Pointe Farms. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1905Grosse Pointe 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 Grosse Pointe Farms.
The area that would become Grosse Pointe Farms was originally incorporated as the Village of Grosse Pointe in 1879. By 1889, the village extended from land just above Provencal Road in the northeast to Cadieux Road in the west. In 1893, the portion of the village east of Fisher Road broke off and incorporated as the Village of Grosse Pointe Farms after a dispute over the location of a tavern. It was not until 1949, however, that the village incorporated as a city.
The U.S. Postal Service operates the Grosse Pointe Post office in Grosse Pointe Farms.
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.
In 1893, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Grosse Pointe Farms’ post office opened in 1898, and the census of 1900 counted 817 people here.
How does Grosse Pointe Farms rank for history?
Grosse Pointe Farms is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #108 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 Grosse Pointe Farms?
13 listings: 10 buildings, among them the Russell A. Alger Jr. House (listed 1982, the first), and 3 historic districts, the Academy of the Sacred Heart, the Grosse Pointe High School and the Beverly Road Historic District, with 28 contributing buildings. 46 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Grosse Pointe Farms?
36% of Grosse Pointe Farms’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1946.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (13), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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