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History · Hermansville

Hermansville’s post office opened in 1878, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: maps from 1884 on.

1878first post office
1on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Hermansville began

When was Hermansville founded?

1878

The Hermansville post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 509148 years
Founding year: the first Hermansville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Hermansville’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 Hermansville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1913, drew every building in Hermansville.Old housesHalf of Hermansville’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hermansville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hermansville’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
Every building

Hermansville, building by building, 1884–1913

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.

Hermansville fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 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 Hermansville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hermansville.

Read it all →

The village of Hermansville was founded in 1878 by C.J.L. Meyer of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, who built and operated a saw and shingle mill utilizing the abundant native cedar and pine growing in the area. The community was named for the son of the original owner of the town site. In 1883 Meyer organized the Wisconsin Land & Lumber Company, which acquired the mill and landholdings, and began working on methods of utilizing the abundant hardwood timber on the surrounding lands held by the company. The company eventually developed innovative new methods and machinery for manufacturing pre-cut maple wood flooring; previous techniques for cutting and shaping maple in the United States were laborious and inefficient because of the hard, brittle nature of maple wood. The IXL brand became a popular choice for flooring, due to its virtually indestructible nature and its rich color and grain. The c…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Hermansville, decade by decade

Today3 recent
HermansvilleMichiganSignUS22009HermansvilleMichiganSignUS2HermansvilleMichiganPostOffice2009HermansvilleMichiganPostOfficeHermansvilleMichiganDowntown2009HermansvilleMichiganDowntown
On the map

Hermansville on the map, 1963 to 1989

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

Hermansville on the 1963 USGS mapHermansville on the 1989 USGS map1963Powers 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 Hermansville.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Hermansville

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

place listed
1
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 Hermansville

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

See all →
Art Van DammeAmerican musician · b. 1920
S
Scott BealAmerican actor and director · b. 1890
J
James GustafsonAmerican academic · b. 1925
R
Robert KendallAmerican actor · b. 1927
E
Ed McBroomAmerican politician · b. 1981
G
Greg IvesAmerican NASCAR crew chief · b. 1979

Questions about Hermansville’s history

What year was Hermansville founded?

The Hermansville post office opened in 1878, 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 (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.