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A−History
History · Munising

Munising was first counted by the census in 1880, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Lobb House and the Schoolcraft Furnace Site. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1897 on, and the census since 1880.

1880first census
2on the National Register
38%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
8famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Munising’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Munising began

When was Munising founded?

1880

Munising first appears in the census in 1880. Another post office, Gogarnville (1889), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 135 in 18802020 census: 1,986146 years

How historic is Munising?

A−

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Munising’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Munising is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Munising’s overall grade.
Founding era1880, from the first census: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194038.0% of homes (±6.8) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register2 listings, 10.1 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 78%
NewerOlder

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 Munising’s 10.1 sits above most of its state (82% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±6.8 points).

Founding year: the first census (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 Munising’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 5,037 in 1920; 1,986 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1897 to 1923, drew every building in Munising.Old housesHalf of Munising’s homes were built before 1951.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Munising’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewInterior Sacred Heart Church: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Munising, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 5,037

Peaked at 5,037 in 1920; 1,986 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Every building

Munising, building by building, 1897–1923

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.

Munising fire insurance map, 1897, sheet 11897Sheet 1 of 6
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How Munising came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Munising.

Read it all →

The area encompassing Munising has been inhabited for thousands of years by the Ojibwe and Noquet, who used the low lying grasslands opposite Grand Island to harvest blueberries and other crops. The name for the city comes from the Ojibwe word minisiing, meaning "at the island". A post office was established as the Munising post office on December 22, 1868. It was renamed as Gogarnville on October 23, 1889, when Julius Gogarn was appointed as postmaster. The office was moved to his farm. He was a German-born American Civil War veteran and first Supervisor of Munising Township. That post office continued until July 15, 1893.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Munising, 1867 to 1997

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1867BuiltSchoolcraft Furnace Site is built
  3. 1884Post officeThe Munising post office opens
  4. 1889Post officeThe Gogarnville post office opens
  5. 1893Post officeThe Gogarnville post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1911In the archiveInterior Sacred Heart Church
  8. 1914Born hereGlenn Osser is born here
  9. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 5,037
  10. 1922In the archiveWest Ward School
  11. 1924Born hereConnie Binsfeld is born here
  12. 1947Born hereClyde Werner is born here
  13. 1952Born hereSteven J. Raica is born here
  14. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  15. 1997In the archive19970721 07 near
By decade

Munising, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1920s3 items
Interior Sacred Heart Church1911Interior Sacred Heart ChurchHigh school1912High schoolWest Ward School1922West Ward School
1930s–1980snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
1990s1 item
19970721 07 near199719970721 07 near
Today7 recent
2009-0618-Munising-AlgerCtyCourt20092009-0618-Munising-AlgerCtyCourtWagner Falls2006Wagner FallsMIMap-doton-Munising2005MIMap-doton-MunisingFalls of the Munissing.Alternate Title: Gems of Lake Superior scenery, No. 151c. 2005Falls of the Munissing.Alternate Title: Gems of Lake …Munising Rear Range Light2004Munising Rear Range LightMunising Front Range Light2004Munising Front Range LightHarbor of2004Harbor of
On the map

Munising on the map, 1958 to 1985

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

Munising on the 1958 USGS mapMunising on the 1985 USGS map1958Munising 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 Munising.

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.

Interior Sacred Heart Church
Retake this viewInterior Sacred Heart Church, 1911

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Munising

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Lobb House
Lobb HouseSchoolcraft Furnace Site, built 1867
BuildingsSites
Lobb HouseBuilding
Schoolcraft Furnace SiteBuilt 1867

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

8 famous people were born in Munising

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
S
Steven J. RaicaCatholic bishop in the United States · b. 1952
Connie BinsfeldAmerican politician · b. 1924
G
Glenn OsserAmerican musician · b. 1914
C
Clyde WernerAmerican football player · b. 1947
Robert Allan EdgarUnited States federal judge · b. 1940
Angela JosephineAmerican indie folk singer-songwriter, musician… · b. 1967
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Munising’s post office has been open since 1884. Another post office, Gogarnville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Munising
1884–today
Gogarnville
1889–1893
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Island View Estates Mobile Park
Gone or out of use
Gogarnville Post Officepost officeLobb House Historical MarkerparkMunising Stationlocale

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.

Munising TownshipIts storyDGrand Island Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAu Train Township3 historic placesB−

Questions about Munising’s history

What year was Munising founded?

The Munising post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Munising rank for history?

Munising is more historic than 78% 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.

What is on the National Register in Munising?

Two places: the Lobb House (listed 1976) and the Schoolcraft Furnace Site (1977).

How old are the homes in Munising?

38% of Munising’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1951.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (8), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.