Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Montgomery

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Montgomery

Montgomery’s post office opened in 1871, and 55% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper.

1871first post office
0on the National Register
55%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Montgomery’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Montgomery began

When was Montgomery founded?

1871

The Montgomery post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 322155 years
Founding year: the first Montgomery post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Montgomery’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Montgomery’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Montgomery’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewMontgomery, MI location: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Montgomery came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Montgomery.

Read it all →

The community was first settled as early as 1870 by several farmers who moved to the area prior to the expansion of the railroad that came by the next year. In 1871, the community was known simply as the Station. When the farmers went to Hillsdale to have their community officially platted, the county clerk, William Montgomery, said he would record it for free in exchange for naming the new community after him. The farmers agreed, and the community received a post office named Montgomery on December 20, 1871. Montgomery incorporated a village in 1906.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Montgomery, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Montgomery, MI locationDate?Montgomery, MI location
Today5 recent
Montgomery, Michigan (2022)2022Montgomery, Michigan (2022)Montgomery, MI post office2022Montgomery, MI post officeMontgomery village office and fire department (Michigan)2022Montgomery village office and fire department (Michig…Former Montgomery, MI station2022Former Montgomery, MI stationMIMap-doton-Montgomery2005MIMap-doton-Montgomery
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Montgomery, MI location
Retake this viewMontgomery, MI location

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Montgomery’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Montgomery

Nobody well known was born in Montgomery itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
K
Keith LincolnPlayer of American football · b. 1939
S
Sidney HaightAmerican Civil War recipient of the Medal of Ho… · b. 1847

Questions about Montgomery’s history

What year was Montgomery founded?

The Montgomery post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 Wikimedia Commons (6) and Wikipedia. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.