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History · Horton Bay

Horton Bay’s post office opened in 1879, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register. Below: maps from 1958 on.

1879first post office
3on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
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Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Horton Bay began

When was Horton Bay founded?

1879

The Horton Bay post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 485147 years
Founding year: the first Horton Bay post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Horton Bay’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 Horton Bay are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Horton Bay’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Horton Bay’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Horton Bay came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Horton Bay.

Read it all →

The area was settled as early as 1876 by pioneer settled Samuel Horton in 1876 as a lumbering community. Located along Pine Lake (now known as Lake Charlevoix), the community was originally spelled as Horton's Bay when a post office opened on February 27, 1879 with Alonzo Stroud serving as the first postmaster. The name was shortened to Horton Bay on October 12, 1894. The post office operated until January 15, 1910.

Ernest Hemingway frequently visited Horton Bay to camp and fish, and the area is the setting for several of his famous The Nick Adams Stories. Hemingway was married here in 1921.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Horton Bay, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Horton Bay, Michigan road signage2022Horton Bay, Michigan road signageHorton Bay, Michigan historic marker2022Horton Bay, Michigan historic markerHorton Bay General Store (July 2022)2022Horton Bay General Store (July 2022)Bay Township Hall, Michigan2022Bay Township Hall, MichiganHorton Bay Historical District2015Horton Bay Historical District
On the map

Horton Bay on the map, 1958 to 1983

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

Horton Bay on the 1958 USGS mapHorton Bay on the 1983 USGS map1958Bayshore 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 Horton Bay.

On the National Register

3 historic places in Horton Bay

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
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 Horton Bay

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

See all →
Claude ShannonAmerican mathematician and information theorist · b. 1916
Megan BooneAmerican actress · b. 1983
David MalpassAmerican economist · b. 1956
H
Hal SmithAmerican actor · b. 1916
K
Kaila KuhnAmerican freestyle skier · b. 2003
Britta PhillipsAmerican musician · b. 1963
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Bay Township3 historic placesA−Hayes Township1 historic placeB−Evangeline TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Horton Bay’s history

What year was Horton Bay founded?

The Horton Bay post office opened in 1879, 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 (5), Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.