Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Lennon

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Lennon

Lennon’s post office opened in 1880, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1922 on and the census since 1980.

1880first post office
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Lennon began

When was Lennon founded?

1880

The Lennon post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 600 in 19802020 census: 509146 years
Founding year: the first Lennon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Lennon’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 Lennon are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19223 editions of the USGS map, 1922 to 1969. Watch Lennon change.Old housesHalf of Lennon’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lennon’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lennon’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
On the map

Lennon on the map, 1922 to 1969

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

Lennon on the 1922 USGS mapLennon on the 1943 USGS mapLennon on the 1969 USGS map1922Durand 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 Lennon.

The story

How Lennon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lennon.

Read it all →

The village was founded by Peter Lennon. He got the Grand Trunk Western Railroad routed through the settlement and a depot built there. He built a grain elevator, which was followed by other businesses. A post office was established in Clayton Township, Genesee County in July 1880 with Lennon as the first postmaster. The office was transferred to Shiawassee County in February 1889.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Lennon, decade by decade

Today4 recent
There's not much to the tiny settlement of Lennon, Michigan, save for a sizeable grain elevator complex. This is a smal…2019There's not much to the tiny settlement of Lennon, Mi…There's not much to the tiny settlement of Lennon, Michigan, save for a sizeable grain elevator complex. This is a smal…2019There's not much to the tiny settlement of Lennon, Mi…There's not much to the tiny settlement of Lennon, Michigan, save for this sizeable grain elevator complex2019There's not much to the tiny settlement of Lennon, Mi…There's not much to the tiny settlement of Lennon, Michigan, save for this sizeable grain elevator complex2019There's not much to the tiny settlement of Lennon, Mi…
People over time

Lennon, census by census

0100200300400500600198020002020Peak: 600

Between 509 and 600 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Lennon

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

See all →
Alfred HersheyAmerican chemist · b. 1908
Thomas E. DeweyAmerican politician · b. 1902
James Oliver CurwoodAmerican writer and conservationist · b. 1878
M
Martha Arnold BoughtonAmerican educator, author · b. 1857
E
Earl RappAmerican baseball player · b. 1921
G
Galen StoneAmerican football player · b. 1988

Questions about Lennon’s history

What year was Lennon founded?

The Lennon post office opened in 1880, 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 (4), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.