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History · Hersey

Hersey’s post office opened in 1868, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1880.

1868first post office
0on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Hersey’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Hersey began

When was Hersey founded?

1868

The Hersey post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 472 in 18802020 census: 347158 years
Founding year: the first Hersey post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Hersey’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.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1893 to 1908, drew every building in Hersey.Old housesHalf of Hersey’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hersey’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hersey’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 viewPlat book of Osceola County, Michigan: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Hersey, building by building, 1893–1908

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.

Hersey fire insurance map, 1893, sheet 11893Sheet 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 Hersey came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hersey.

Read it all →

Hersey is a small rural community that started as a lumber town in the early 19th century and was a major supplier of lumber to the Muskegon Lumber Yards and played an important role in rebuilding Chicago after the great fire. It was founded by Delos A. Blodgett, a banker, lumber baron, and philanthropist. His family was a major benefactor in the Grand Rapids area via the Blodgett Hospital and the Grand Rapids Home for Kids.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hersey, 1860 to 1959

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860Born hereJohn W. Blodgett is born here
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900In the archivePlat book of Osceola County, Michigan
  5. 1959On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Hersey, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Plat book of Osceola County, Michigan1900Plat book of Osceola County, Michigan
1910s–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
Today6 recent
Hersey. MI village and township hall2026Hersey. MI village and township hallHersey, Michigan (July 2026)2026Hersey, Michigan (July 2026)Hersey, MI post office2026Hersey, MI post officeCongregational Church2026Congregational ChurchHersey Congrational Church2015Hersey Congrational ChurchMIMap-doton-Hersey2005MIMap-doton-Hersey
On the map

Hersey on the map, 1959 to 1983

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

Hersey on the 1959 USGS mapHersey on the 1983 USGS map1959Evart 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 Hersey.

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.

Plat book of Osceola County, Michigan
Retake this viewPlat book of Osceola County, Michigan, 1900

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Hersey, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 472

Between 202 and 472 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Hersey TownshipIts storyCRichmond TownshipIts storyC+

Questions about Hersey’s history

What year was Hersey founded?

The Hersey post office opened in 1868, 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 (7), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.