Founding year: the first Marlette post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Marlette’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Marlette is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Marlette’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 Marlette’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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 →
What stands out about Marlette’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The history of the City of Marlette and surrounding Marlette Township are intertwined. Many social and commercial relationships unite the community such public schooling, public library, dining and charity. Marlette was first settled in the 1850s by people from Ontario who sought tall timber and fertile soil. The community name was derived from the "Marlatt" family of settlers, who carved their name on a log shanty. Marlette Township was created in 1859 from portions of Sanilac Township and Buel Township. Marlette became recognized as a village within the township in 1865. The village incorporated in 1881 to allow separate administration and taxation to improve common areas of the town. Marlette became a city in 1984.
The Marlette post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Marlette rank for history?
Marlette is more historic than 39% 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.
How old are the homes in Marlette?
18% of Marlette’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1963.
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 Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
