Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Grosse Pointe Park

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
BHistory
History · Grosse Pointe Park

Grosse Pointe Park dates to 1907, and 62% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns · #247 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Its Register listings are the William B. and Mary Chase Stratton House and the William and Margot Kessler House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1910.

1907founded
2on the National Register
62%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Grosse Pointe Park’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Grosse Pointe Park began

When was Grosse Pointe Park founded?

1907

Grosse Pointe Park dates its founding to 1907 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 290 in 19102020 census: 11,595119 years

How historic is Grosse Pointe Park?

B

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1886.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Grosse Pointe Park’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Grosse Pointe Park is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #247 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 Grosse Pointe Park’s overall grade.
Founding era1907, from Wikipedia: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194061.8% of homes (±4.0) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register2 listings, 1.8 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 64%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 65%

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 Park’s 1.8 sits above most of its state (68% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1907.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 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 Grosse Pointe Park’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.Old housesHalf of Grosse Pointe Park’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 15,641 in 1970; 11,595 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Grosse Pointe Park’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Grosse Pointe Park’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 viewWilliamKesslerHouseKorab: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Grosse Pointe Park came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Grosse Pointe Park.

Read it all →

Before incorporation as a city, the area that would become the city of Grosse Pointe Park was incorporated as the Village of Fairview, which spanned Bewick Street in the west to Cadieux Road in the east in Grosse Pointe Township. The city of Detroit annexed part of the village in the township from Bewick Street to Alter Road in 1907. Fearing further annexation, the part of the village east of Alter Road incorporated as the Village of Grosse Pointe Park later that year. Seeking further annexation protection from Detroit and independence from its township, the village reincorporated as a city in 1950.

In November 2021, Grosse Pointe Park elected its first female mayor, Michele Hodges.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Grosse Pointe Park, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 15,641

Peaked at 15,641 in 1970; 11,595 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Timeline

Grosse Pointe Park, 1886 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Cottage Grove post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1907
    FoundingGrosse Pointe Park is established
  6. 1914Post officeThe Cottage Grove post office closes
  7. 1926Born hereJack Tocco is born here
  8. 1933Born hereJames Damman is born here
  9. 1960In the archiveWilliamKesslerHouseKorab
  10. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 15,641
By decade

Grosse Pointe Park, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1960s1 item
WilliamKesslerHouseKorab1960WilliamKesslerHouseKorab
1970s–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
Today16 recent
Grosse Pointe Park, MI municipal center2021Grosse Pointe Park, MI municipal centerGrosse Pointe Park along Jefferson Ave2021Grosse Pointe Park along Jefferson AveGrosse Pointe Park MI Fire and Police Department2021Grosse Pointe Park MI Fire and Police DepartmentEwald Branch2021Ewald BranchThe 2017 sculpture called "Sails of Two Cities," by artist brothers Erik and Israel Nordin, at the boundary with Detroit2019The 2017 sculpture called "Sails of Two Cities," by a…A Canadian freighter chugs into the lake from the Detroit River off Grosse Pointe Park, the first of three increasingly…2019A Canadian freighter chugs into the lake from the Det…A mural2019A muralGreatly oversized flower pots2019Greatly oversized flower potsWardwell House taken from Jefferson Avenue, Grosse Pointe, Michigan2016Wardwell House taken from Jefferson Avenue, Grosse Po…Fox Indian Massacre2016Fox Indian Massacre15420WindmillPointe201215420WindmillPointeStratten2008StrattenDefer Elementary School, Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan (October 12, 2008)2008Defer Elementary School, Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan…Buck-Wardwell House2008Buck-Wardwell HouseSt. Ambrose Catholic Church - Grosse Pointe, Michigan2007St. Ambrose Catholic Church - Grosse Pointe, MichiganMIMap-doton-GrossePointePark2005MIMap-doton-GrossePointePark
On the map

Grosse Pointe Park on the map, 1905 to 1918

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

Grosse Pointe Park on the 1905 USGS mapGrosse Pointe Park on the 1918 USGS map1905Grosse 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 Park.

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.

WilliamKesslerHouseKorab
Retake this viewWilliamKesslerHouseKorab, 1960

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Grosse Pointe Park

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
first listed
1984
William B. and Mary Chase Stratton House
William B. and Mary Chase Stratton HouseWilliam and Margot Kessler House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Arts and Crafts1
William B. and Mary Chase Stratton HouseArts and Crafts
William and Margot Kessler HouseBuilding

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Grosse Pointe Park

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

See all →
James DammanAmerican politician · b. 1933
Jack ToccoAmerican mob boss · b. 1926
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Another post office, Cottage Grove, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gone or out of use
Cottage Grove Post Officepost office

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Detroit282 historic placesA+Grosse Pointe2 historic placesB

Questions about Grosse Pointe Park’s history

What year was Grosse Pointe Park founded?

In 1907, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Grosse Pointe Park’s post office opened in 1886, and the census of 1910 counted 290 people here.

How does Grosse Pointe Park rank for history?

Grosse Pointe Park is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #247 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 Park?

Two places: the William B. and Mary Chase Stratton House (listed 1984) and the William and Margot Kessler House (2013).

How old are the homes in Grosse Pointe Park?

62% of Grosse Pointe Park’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1938.

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 (13), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.