Maybee was established as early as 1873 in the southwest part of Exeter Township when the Canada Southern Railway built a railway line through the area. The line was soon transferred to the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad, which transported manufactured charcoal and other forest products from Maybee to Detroit in the northeast and Ohio to the south. The community was named for early settler Abram Maybee. Along with Joseph Klotz, the two surveyed, platted, and bought and sold the land by 1875. The village grew to include a grain elevator, gristmill, mining quarry and sand pit, hotel, several churches and schools, and numerous small factories and stores. The growing population led to Maybee becoming incorporated as a village in 1899.
the court house was burned. For supervisors and town officers from 1873 to 1888 inclusive, the reader is referred to page 273, The village of Maybee, within this township, is a direct outgrowth of the building of the Canada Southern Railway. The large amount of tinaber adjacent to the site first developed the manufacture of charcoal, and a small
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.
By decade
Maybee, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
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 (6), Wikipedia 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.
1920
2010
2010
2010
2010
2005
