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History · New Era

New Era’s post office opened in 1872, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1914 on.

1872first post office
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From New Era’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How New Era began

When was New Era founded?

1872

The New Era post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 446154 years
Founding year: the first New Era post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about New Era’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 New Era’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start New Era’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how New Era’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 viewPere Marquette Train Depot New Era, Mic…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

New Era, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of New Era yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

New Era is a village in Shelby Township, Oceana County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, New Era had a population of 446. New Era is the birthplace of Caldecott Medal-winning children's author Verna Aardema. The village is near the halfway point on the Hart-Montague Trail, and local businesses woo visiting cyclists as they pass by along the trail. New Era is also home to dairy product manufacturer, Country Dairy.

Its first post office opened in 1872. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 451 in 2010, 446 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

New Era, 1911 to 1992

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1911Born hereVerna Aardema is born here
  3. 1914In the archivePere Marquette Train Depot New Era, Michigan 1914
  4. 1992Born hereEvan Bruinsma is born here
By decade

New Era, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Pere Marquette Train Depot New Era, Michigan 19141914Pere Marquette Train Depot New Era, Michigan 1914
1920s–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
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.

Pere Marquette Train Depot New Era, Michigan 1914
Retake this viewPere Marquette Train Depot New Era, Michigan 1914, 1914

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in New Era

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

See all →
Evan BruinsmaAmerican basketball player · b. 1992
V
Verna AardemaAmerican children's writer · b. 1911

Questions about New Era’s history

What year was New Era founded?

The New Era post office opened in 1872, 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 (1) and Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.