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History · McBain

McBain dates to 1887, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1929 on and the census since 1900.

1887founded
0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How McBain began

When was McBain founded?

1887

McBain dates its founding to 1887 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 709 in 19002020 census: 637139 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1888.The full story ↓

What stands out about McBain’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of McBain are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of McBain’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start McBain’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how McBain’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How McBain came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of McBain.

Read it all →

McBain began as a settlement around a sawmill in Riverside Township, founded by John McBain in 1887. A station on the Toledo, Ann Arbor and North Michigan Railway opened on August 27, 1888 and a post office with the name Owens opened on September 10, 1888. The post office was renamed McBain on September 17, 1889. McBain incorporated as a village in 1893 and as a city in 1907.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

McBain, 1887 to 1957

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887
    FoundingMcBain is established
  3. 1888Post officeThe Owens post office opens
  4. 1889Post officeThe Owens post office closes
  5. 1889Post officeThe McBain post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

McBain on the map, 1957 to 1983

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of McBain. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

McBain on the 1957 USGS mapMcBain on the 1983 USGS map1957Marion sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of McBain.

Every building

McBain, building by building, 1929

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 sheet.

McBain fire insurance map, 1929, sheet 11929Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

McBain, census by census

01002003004005006007001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 709

Between 463 and 709 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on McBain’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

McBain’s post office has been open since 1889. Another post office, Owens, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Owens
1888–1889
McBain
1889–today
18801950today
1cemetery inside McBain
Mount View

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Richland TownshipIts storyC+Riverside TownshipIts storyB−

Questions about McBain’s history

What year was McBain founded?

In 1887, according to Wikidata. McBain’s post office opened in 1888, and the census of 1900 counted 709 people here.

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 Wikipedia, 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.