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Interlochen Historical MarkerPhoto: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Interlochen

Interlochen’s post office opened in 1890

Most of Interlochen was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Below: 12 old photos and papers and maps from 1956 on.

1890first post office
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Interlochen’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Interlochen began

When was Interlochen founded?

1890

The Interlochen post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 694136 years
Founding year: the first Interlochen post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Interlochen’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1930–1942.
★ What stands out · By decade

Interlochen, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s–1940s12 items
Personnel of National High School Orchestra1930Personnel of National High School OrchestraInterlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 or more young musicians study symphonic music for eight weeks each…1942Interlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 …Interlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 or more young musicians study symphonic music for eight weeks each…1942Interlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 …Interlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 or more young musicians study symphonic music for eight weeks each…1942Interlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 …Interlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 or more young musicians study symphonic music for eight weeks each…1942Interlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 …Interlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 or more young musicians study symphonic music for eight weeks each…1942Interlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 …Interlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 or more musicians study symphonic music for eight weeks each summe…1942Interlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 …Interlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 or more young musicians study symphonic music for eight weeks each…1942Interlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 …Interlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 or more young musicians study symphonic music for eight weeks each…1942Interlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 …Interlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 or more young musicians study symphonic music for eight weeks each…1942Interlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 …Interlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 or more young musicians study symphonic music for eight weeks each…1942Interlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 …Interlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 or more young musicians study symphonic music for eight weeks each…1942Interlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 …
1950s–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
The story

How Interlochen came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Interlochen.

Read it all →

Interlochen takes its name from the Latin "inter", meaning "between", and the Scottish Gaelic "lochan", meaning lakes.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Interlochen, 1930 to 1956

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1930In the archivePersonnel of National High School Orchestra
  3. 1942In the archiveInterlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 or more young musicians study sympho…
  4. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
On the map

Interlochen on the map, 1956 to 1983

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

Interlochen on the 1956 USGS mapInterlochen on the 1983 USGS map1956Thompsonville 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 Interlochen.

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.

Personnel of National High School Orchestra
Retake this viewPersonnel of National High School Orchestra, 1930

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Interlochen

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

See all →
Jeremy DaviesAmerican actor · b. 1969
B
Barry WatsonAmerican actor · b. 1974
Dan MajerleAmerican basketball player · b. 1965
David WayneAmerican actor · b. 1914
C
Craig ThompsonAmerican graphic novelist · b. 1975
William MillikenAmerican politician · b. 1922
Help out

Finish Interlochen’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPersonnel of National High School Orche…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Interlochen’s history

What year was Interlochen founded?

The Interlochen post office opened in 1890, 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 the Library of Congress (12), 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.