Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1848.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Memphis’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Memphis is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Memphis’ 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 Memphis’ 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 B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.2 points). Two sources give 1834.
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 Memphis’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first European Americans to settle in the area of Memphis were members of the Wells family from Albany, New York; Anthony Wells resided here from 1834 and James Wells from 1835. The fledgling community was originally called "Wells Settlement" after them.
The name "Memphis" was chosen and applied in 1848 when a US post office was established. The village was named for its location on a bluff overlooking the Belle River, which settlers likened to the position of the ancient Egyptian Memphis, "the City on the Nile". Memphis was incorporated as a village on April 4, 1865. It did not attain the status of a city until 1953.
In 1834, according to Wikidata. Memphis’ post office opened in 1848, and the census of 1870 counted 385 people here.
How does Memphis rank for history?
Memphis is more historic than 73% 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 Memphis?
33% of Memphis’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1956.
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, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
