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B−History
History · New Baltimore

New Baltimore dates to 1796, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns · #357 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1914 on, and the census since 1880.

1796founded
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From New Baltimore’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How New Baltimore began

When was New Baltimore founded?

1796

New Baltimore dates its founding to 1796 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 1,024 in 18802020 census: 12,117230 years

How historic is New Baltimore?

B−

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1855.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives New Baltimore’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, New Baltimore is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #357 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of New Baltimore’s overall grade.
Founding era1796, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194010.0% of homes (±3.1) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%B−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MI town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 50%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 49%

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 New Baltimore’s 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.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1796.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 points).

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 New Baltimore’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.On the map since 19145 editions of the USGS map, 1914 to 1973. Watch New Baltimore change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1796: 230 years of New Baltimore.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start New Baltimore’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewF.C. Losh Building: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

New Baltimore on the map, 1914 to 1973

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

New Baltimore on the 1914 USGS mapNew Baltimore on the 1939 USGS mapNew Baltimore on the 1952 USGS mapNew Baltimore on the 1968 USGS mapNew Baltimore on the 1973 USGS map1914Algonac 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 New Baltimore.

Timeline

New Baltimore, 1796 to 1993

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1796
    FoundingNew Baltimore is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1855Post officeThe New Baltimore post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1914On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1953Born hereClaudia Schmidt is born here
  8. 1974Born hereKathleen Rose Perkins is born here
  9. 1987Born hereAndrea LaFontaine is born here
  10. 1988In the archiveF.C. Losh Building
  11. 1993Born hereTaiwan Jones is born here
The story

How New Baltimore came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of New Baltimore.

Read it all →

New Baltimore incorporated as a village in 1867 and as a city in 1931. Previously, it was split between Macomb and St. Clair counties; however, in the 1970s, the city was able to petition to adjust the county boundaries such that it would align with the city's eastern border. This placed New Baltimore completely in Macomb County, where it remains to this day. The town sits on the waterfront along Lake St. Clair's Anchor Bay, and offers a public park, beach, and downtown-shopping district.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

New Baltimore, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s1 item
F.C. Losh Building1988F.C. Losh Building
1990snothing 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
Today3 recent
American Flag2021American FlagTwinkly Lights At Twilight (Unsplash)2016Twinkly Lights At Twilight (Unsplash)Downtown Looking Up 1-6-042004Downtown Looking Up 1-6-04
Every building

New Baltimore, building by building, 1921

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.

New Baltimore fire insurance map, 1921, sheet 11921Sheet 1 of 3
BrickWoodStone

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

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.

F.C. Losh Building
Retake this viewF.C. Losh Building, 1988

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

New Baltimore, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,0001880190019201940196019802000202012,117

Grew from 1,024 people in 1880 to 12,117 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in New Baltimore

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

See all →
K
Kathleen Rose PerkinsAmerican actress · b. 1974
A
Andrea LaFontaineAmerican politician · b. 1987
C
Claudia SchmidtAmerican guitarist · b. 1953
T
Taiwan JonesAmerican football player · b. 1993
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Ira Township1 historic placeB−Chesterfield Township1 historic placeB−

Questions about New Baltimore’s history

What year was New Baltimore founded?

In 1796, according to Wikidata. New Baltimore’s post office opened in 1855, and the census of 1880 counted 1,024 people here.

How does New Baltimore rank for history?

New Baltimore is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #357 of 701 in Michigan. 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 New Baltimore?

10% of New Baltimore’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1995.

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 (4), 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.