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History · Harrisville

Harrisville’s post office opened in 1857, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1887 on and the census since 1880.

1857first post office
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Harrisville began

When was Harrisville founded?

1857

The Harrisville post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1870.

First census: 549 in 18802020 census: 437169 years
Founding year: the first Harrisville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1870.The full story ↓

What stands out about Harrisville’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 Harrisville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 987 in 1890; 437 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1887 to 1910, drew every building in Harrisville.Old housesHalf of Harrisville’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Harrisville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Harrisville’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
People over time

Harrisville, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 987

Peaked at 987 in 1890; 437 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Every building

Harrisville, building by building, 1887–1910

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.

Harrisville fire insurance map, 1887, sheet 11887Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Harrisville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Harrisville.

Read it all →

The place was first known as Davison's Mill after Crosier Davison, who in partnership with Simeon Holden, had purchased land and water power rights here in 1854. Benjamin Harris and his sons, Levi and Henry, of West Bloomfield, New York, bought out the partners. A post office established on September 16, 1857, was named Harrisville, with Levi as the first postmaster.

The Harrises sold out to Weston, (George L.) Colwell & Company, who had H.G. Rothwell plat the community in 1870. Harrisville was incorporated as a village in 1887 and as a city in 1905.

In 1908, the town narrowly survived in the shadow of the Metz Fire, the largest modern forest fire in Michigan. It was the beneficiary of an onshore wind.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Harrisville, 1857 to 1959

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857Post officeThe Harrisville post office opens
  3. 1890CensusPopulation peaks at 987
  4. 20th century
  5. 1959On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Harrisville, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Harrisville, Michigan intersection2018Harrisville, Michigan intersectionHarrisville, MI (a href="http-bighugelabs.com-onblack.php^id=3703497256^amp,size=large" rel="noreferrer nofollow")View …2009Harrisville, MI (a href="http-bighugelabs.com-onblack…Yellow Butterfly (Papilio glaucus)2007Yellow Butterfly (Papilio glaucus)Monarch Butterfly2007Monarch ButterflyLake State RR2007Lake State RRLake Huron -Copper Inn 022007Lake Huron -Copper Inn 02Lake Huron -Copper Inn 012007Lake Huron -Copper Inn 01Harrisville michigan harbor 012007Harrisville michigan harbor 01Harmony weekend 2007 parade 012007Harmony weekend 2007 parade 01Harmony weekend 2007 craftshow 012007Harmony weekend 2007 craftshow 01Harmony weekend 2007 barbershop 012007Harmony weekend 2007 barbershop 01MIMap-doton-Harrisville2005MIMap-doton-Harrisville
On the map

Harrisville on the map, 1959 to 1989

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

Harrisville on the 1959 USGS mapHarrisville on the 1989 USGS map1959Harrisville 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 Harrisville.

Famous people

Famous people close to Harrisville

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

See all →
Michael Bailey SmithAmerican actor · b. 1957
S
Stanley GrenzAmerican theologian · b. 1950
J. Scott CampbellAmerican comic book artist · b. 1973
Jeff JanisAmerican football player · b. 1991
Donald B. DuncanUnited States admiral · b. 1896
William ComstockAmerican politician · b. 1877
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Harrisville TownshipIts storyC−

Questions about Harrisville’s history

What year was Harrisville founded?

The Harrisville post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1870.

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