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Mackinaw City, MichiganPhoto: WMrapids · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Mackinaw City

Mackinaw City dates to 1857, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 6 old photos and papers from 1865 on.

1857founded
3on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mackinaw City’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Mackinaw City began

When was Mackinaw City founded?

1857

Mackinaw City dates its founding to 1857 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1871.

2020 census: 846169 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1871.The full story ↓
The story

How Mackinaw City came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mackinaw City.

Read it all →

The name of Mackinaw is a respelling of "Mackinac", a strait between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, an island in the strait, and an important trading-post on the island; ultimately from Ojibwe mishinii-makinaang (“at the place of many snapping turtles”).

ChaptersEtymology and early settlementEuropean exploration and Fort MichilimackinacMackinaw City from mid-19th century to present

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mackinaw City, 1857 to 1936

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857
    FoundingMackinaw City is established
  3. 1865In the archiveTodd House, Mackinaw
  4. 20th century
  5. 1911In the archiveDock
  6. 1936Born hereGary W. Bauer is born here
By decade

Mackinaw City, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s2 items
Todd House, Mackinaw1865Todd House, MackinawTodd House, Mackinaw1865Todd House, Mackinaw
1910s4 items
Dock1911DockDock at Mackinaw City, Mich1911Dock at Mackinaw City, MichSteamer Algoma at dock1911Steamer Algoma at dockDock1912Dock
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
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.

Todd House, Mackinaw
Retake this viewTodd House, Mackinaw, 1865

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Mackinaw City

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmark
1
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts

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

Help out

Finish Mackinaw City’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewTodd House, Mackinaw: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Mackinaw Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWawatam Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Mackinaw City’s history

What year was Mackinaw City founded?

In 1857, according to Wikidata. Mackinaw City’s post office opened in 1871.

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 Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (4), Wikipedia and Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.