Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Its Register listings are . Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1915 on and old-book passages.
The Marcellus post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Marcellus is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 Marcellus’ 18.0 sits above most of its state (86% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Marcellus’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Marcellus.
The first settler in the Marcellus area was John Bair, who came in October 1832. He was followed almost a year later by Daniel Driskel, in 1833. In 1835, 11 other families settled in Marcellus, and by 1836, 28 families had settled there.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Marcellus, cut from the printed page as they were published.
While the Grand Trunk railroad no doubt had most to do with the founding of the village of Marcellus, now one of the three incorporated villages of the county, one or two other influences working to that end should lie noticed. INIarcellus township, as will be remembered, was the last to be set off and last to be settled. Its inhabitants were long without communication, and did not have a postoffice until 1857, when Harrison Dykeman began carrying the mail, at irregular intervals, from Lawton, on the main line of the Michigan railroad in
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.![E. S. Conklin is the resident partner and manager of the Marcellus Milling Company, in which connection he is a prominent representative of industrial interests in the village of Marcellus. The qiuilities of a successful business man are his — close application, unfaltering enter- ]3rise and indefa…](https://images.townratings.com/story/7646/bk-df1b6d3ff64ef9bb-l.jpg)
E. S. Conklin is the resident partner and manager of the Marcellus Milling Company, in which connection he is a prominent representative of industrial interests in the village of Marcellus. The qiuilities of a successful business man are his — close application, unfaltering enter- ]3rise and indefatigable diligence. A native of Wisconsin, he was bom in Waupaca on the I7tb of May, 1863, his parents being Sidney H.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
About four years since, becoming impressed with the fact that his protege, the village of Marcellus, needed a bank, he, without any knowledge of the intricacies of the business, immediately opened up one with his son, C. S. Jones, as cashier, and he has been successful beyond his most sanguine expectations. In fact, success seems to crown his every effort, for, in addition to industry and perseverance, he is possessed of fine
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.![score years carries us back to the time of the first settlement of what now constitutes the township ] of Marcellus. Fifty-two years, with their momentous events and changing vicissitudes, have passed into the silent night of eternity since the first white settler made his permanent location within…](https://images.townratings.com/story/7646/bk-ee48aa56cad156cd-l.jpg)
score years carries us back to the time of the first settlement of what now constitutes the township ] of Marcellus. Fifty-two years, with their momentous events and changing vicissitudes, have passed into the silent night of eternity since the first white settler made his permanent location within the borders of the township. Consequently, in the preparation of a brief historical sketch of Marcellus, our labors only require
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Marcellus’ page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The Marcellus post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Marcellus is more historic than 78% 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.
36% of Marcellus’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1953.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1915
2021
2017
2012
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2012