Lathrup Village dates to 1923, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 63% of U.S. towns · #249 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 975 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1960.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1956.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lathrup Village’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lathrup Village is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #249 of 701 in Michigan. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lathrup Village’s overall grade.
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 Lathrup Village’s 2,402 sits above most of its state (100% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 975 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1923.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.9 points).
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 Lathrup Village’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lathrup Village. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1905Detroit 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 Lathrup Village.
The city of Lathrup Village is an outgrowth of the development known as Lathrup Townsite, the dream of its developer Louise Lathrup Kelley. In 1923 she purchased a tract of 1,000 acres (4 km2) in Southfield Township, in southern Oakland County, and proceeded to plant a residential neighborhood that encompasses the city of 1.5 square miles (3.9 km2). Lathrup Townsite was conceived as a controlled community with rigorous standards, including houses built only of masonry construction; early integration of attached garages; as well as established minimums for construction cost to ensure quality. The community also had housing covenants to prevent the sale of homes to African American families, part of a larger trend in the mid-20th century of white Detroiters fleeing to the suburbs to avoid living near black residents (see white flight). As the community developed, Mrs. Kelley implemented n…
Between 3,556 and 4,676 people in every census since 1960.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lathrup Village’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and places now gone
Another post office, Lathrop Village, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Gone or out of use
Lathrup Village Post Officepost office
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Lathrup Village’s history
What year was Lathrup Village founded?
In 1923, according to Wikidata. Lathrup Village’s post office opened in 1956, and the census of 1960 counted 3,556 people here.
How does Lathrup Village rank for history?
Lathrup Village is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #249 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.
What is on the National Register in Lathrup Village?
One place: the Lathrup Village Historic District (listed 1998).
How old are the homes in Lathrup Village?
17% of Lathrup Village’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1955.
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 (8), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) 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.
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