Marquette dates to 1849, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 95% of U.S. towns · #36 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
13 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 116 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1848.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Marquette’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Marquette is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #36 of 701 in Michigan. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Marquette’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 Marquette’s 60.0 sits above most of its state (91% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 128 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A. The pre-1940 share (±2.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1849.
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 Marquette’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Marquette, building by building, 1884–1917
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The land around Marquette was known to French missionaries of the early 17th century and the trappers of the early 19th century. The area was originally and predominantly inhabited by the Noquet, Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi, the latter three peoples comprising the Anishinaabe Council of Three Fires. They knew the area as Gichi-namebini-ziibing ("The river of giant white suckers", referring to the Dead River). Development of the area began in 1844, when William Burt and Jacob Houghton (the brother of geologist Douglass Houghton) discovered iron deposits near Teal Lake west of Marquette. In 1845, Jackson Mining Company, the first organized mining company in the region, was formed.
In 1849, according to Wikidata. Marquette’s post office opened in 1848, and the census of 1850 counted 136 people here.
How does Marquette rank for history?
Marquette is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #36 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 Marquette?
13 listings: 11 buildings, among them the Call House (listed 1972, the first), 1 historic district, the Arch and Ridge Streets Historic District, with 116 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 128 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Marquette?
29% of Marquette’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1969.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (13), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1865–1880
1865–1880
1865–1880
