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History · Ironton

Ironton’s post office opened in 1881, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1958 on.

1881first post office
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Ironton began

When was Ironton founded?

1881

The Ironton post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 148145 years
Founding year: the first Ironton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

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

Start Ironton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ironton’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 Ironton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ironton.

Read it all →

In 1879, Robert Cherry settled here along the shores of Pine Lake (now known as Lake Charlevoix). Cherry worked for the Pine Lake Iron Company of Chicago and built a plant here that opened in 1881. The plant used iron ore brought in by barges from the Upper Peninsula and turned it into pig iron. A post office opened in Ironton on January 31, 1881, and the community was platted in 1884. The iron operation ultimately failed in 1893, but the community remained. The post office closed on December 30, 1965.

The community of Ironton was listed as a newly-organized census-designated place for the 2010 census, meaning it now has officially defined boundaries and population statistics for the first time.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Ironton on the map, 1958 to 1983

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

Ironton on the 1958 USGS mapIronton 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 Ironton.

Famous people

Famous people close to Ironton

Nobody well known was born in Ironton 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

Questions about Ironton’s history

What year was Ironton founded?

The Ironton post office opened in 1881, 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 →
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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 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.