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BHistory
History · Kingsford

25% of Kingsford’s homes were built before 1940

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns · #318 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1955 on, and the census since 1930.

0on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Kingsford’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

Where Kingsford’s name came from

How did Kingsford get its name?

Kingsford was named for the developer Edward G. Kingsford.

How historic is Kingsford?

B

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
History grade

What drives Kingsford’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kingsford is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #318 of 701 in Michigan. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kingsford’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194025.2% of homes (±8.5) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%A−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MI town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 56%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 55%

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 Kingsford’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (32% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.5 points).

Founding year: our sources. 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 Kingsford’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Kingsford’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Kingsford, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Kingsford yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Kingsford is a city in Dickinson County, Michigan, United States. Its population was 5,139 at the 2020 census, a slight increase from the 5,133 recorded at the 2010 census. It was named for the developer Edward G. Kingsford.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 5,133 in 2010, 5,139 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Kingsford, 1850 to 1992

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Michigan - Dickinson County - ED 22-1, ED…
  3. 20th century
  4. 1950Born hereTim Kearney is born here
  5. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1992Born hereKevin Gravel is born here
By decade

Kingsford, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1850s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s2 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Michigan - Dickinson County - ED 22-1, ED 22-2A, ED 22-2B, ED 22-3, ED …18501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Michi…1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Michigan - Dickinson County - ED 22-2A, ED 22-2B18501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Michi…
Today2 recent
Kingsford, MI location 20202023Kingsford, MI location 20202009-0619-Kingsford-CH20092009-0619-Kingsford-CH
On the map

Kingsford on the map, 1955 to 1982

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

Kingsford on the 1955 USGS mapKingsford on the 1982 USGS map1955Iron Mountain 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 Kingsford.

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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Michigan - Dickinson County - ED 22-1, ED 22-2A, ED 22-2B, ED 22-3, ED …
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Michigan - Dickinson County - ED 22-1, ED 22-2A, ED 22-2B, ED 22-3, ED …, 1850

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Kingsford, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,00019401960198020002020Peak: 5,771

Between 5,038 and 5,771 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Kingsford

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Kevin GravelAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1992
T
Tim KearneyAmerican football player · b. 1950
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Breitung Township1 historic placeBIron Mountain6 historic placesA

Questions about Kingsford’s history

How does Kingsford rank for history?

Kingsford is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #318 of 701 in Michigan. 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.

How old are the homes in Kingsford?

25% of Kingsford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1968.

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 (4), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.