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AHistory
History · Jonesville

Jonesville dates to 1828, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 93% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Grace Episcopal Church, the E. O. Grosvenor House and the Deal, J.J., and Son Carriage Factory. Below: maps from 1884 on and the census since 1850.

1828founded
3on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Jonesville began

When was Jonesville founded?

1828

Jonesville dates its founding to 1828 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 565 in 18502020 census: 2,176198 years

How historic is Jonesville?

A

More historic than 93% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1829.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Jonesville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jonesville is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jonesville’s overall grade.
Founding era1828, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194039.2% of homes (±7.2) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register3 listings, 12.9 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 93%
NewerOlder

Few Michigan towns list much on the Register (a typical Michigan town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Jonesville’s 12.9 sits above most of its state (84% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.2 points). Two sources give 1828.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Jonesville’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 Jonesville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1922, drew every building in Jonesville.Deep rootsEstablished in 1828: 198 years of Jonesville.Old housesHalf of Jonesville’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Jonesville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Jonesville’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

Jonesville, building by building, 1884–1922

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.

Jonesville 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.

Timeline

Jonesville, 1828 to 1959

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1828
    FoundingJonesville is established
  3. 1829Post officeThe Jonesville post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1959On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Jonesville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Jonesville.

Read it all →

The area was first settled by brothers Benaiah and Edmund Jones, who came here from Painesville, Ohio in 1828 and purchased land the next year. They surveyed and platted the community by 1831. It served as the first county seat of Hillsdale County, which was formally organized in 1835. The Jonesville post office opened on January 21, 1841. The community incorporated as a village in 1855. Jonesville once contained a railway station along the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway.

In August 2014, the village voted to adopt a charter and incorporated as a city.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Jonesville, decade by decade

Today13 recent
County National Bank branch2024County National Bank branchKiddie Brush and Toy Company historic marker2022Kiddie Brush and Toy Company historic markerJonesville, Michigan road signage2022Jonesville, Michigan road signageJonesville, Michigan post office2022Jonesville, Michigan post officeJonesville, Michigan city hall2022Jonesville, Michigan city hallJonesville, Michigan (2022)2022Jonesville, Michigan (2022)JJ Deal and Sons Carriage Factory historic marker2022JJ Deal and Sons Carriage Factory historic markerJJ Deal and Sons Carriage Factory (2022)2022JJ Deal and Sons Carriage Factory (2022)Grace Episcopal Church (Jonesville, MI) historic marker2022Grace Episcopal Church (Jonesville, MI) historic mark…Fayette Township, Michigan hall2022Fayette Township, Michigan hallDelevan House (Munro House)2022Delevan House (Munro House)Delevan House2017Delevan HouseFormerDognSuds, ConeyHutDriveInn2008FormerDognSuds, ConeyHutDriveInn
On the map

Jonesville on the map, 1959 to 1985

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

Jonesville on the 1959 USGS mapJonesville on the 1979 USGS mapJonesville on the 1985 USGS map1959Hillsdale sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Jonesville.

On the National Register

3 historic places in Jonesville

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1971
Grace Episcopal Church
Grace Episcopal ChurchE. O. Grosvenor HouseDeal, J.J., and Son Carriage Factory
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Gothic Revival1
Classical1
High Victorian Italianate1
Commercial Style1
Grace Episcopal ChurchGothic Revival
E. O. Grosvenor HouseHigh Victorian Italianate
Deal, J.J., and Son Carriage FactoryCommercial Style

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Jonesville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5001850190019502000Peak: 2,337

Between 565 and 2,337 people in every census since 1850.

17 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Jonesville’s post office has been open since 1829.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Evergreen Estates Mobile Home Park
1cemetery inside Jonesville
Sunset View

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Jonesville’s history

What year was Jonesville founded?

In 1828, according to Wikidata. Jonesville’s post office opened in 1829, and the census of 1850 counted 565 people here.

How does Jonesville rank for history?

Jonesville is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Jonesville?

Three places: the Grace Episcopal Church (listed 1971), the E. O. Grosvenor House (1977) and the Deal, J.J., and Son Carriage Factory (2012).

How old are the homes in Jonesville?

39% of Jonesville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1956.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (13), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.