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History · North Adams

North Adams’ post office opened in 1850, and 56% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1959 on and the census since 1880.

1850first post office
0on the National Register
56%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How North Adams began

When was North Adams founded?

1850

The North Adams post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 433 in 18802020 census: 452176 years
Founding year: the first North Adams post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about North Adams’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of North Adams are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of North Adams’ homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start North Adams’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How North Adams came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of North Adams.

Read it all →

The area was first settled by William Cutler, who moved here from Niagara County, New York in 1835. He opened a tavern, and the community became known as Cutler's Corner. It was given a post office under that name on June 27, 1848. The post office was renamed North Adams on May 1, 1850, due to its northern location within Adams Township. The community was platted under the name North Adams in 1871 and incorporated as a village in 1881.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

North Adams, decade by decade

Today6 recent
North Adams, Michigan (2022)2022North Adams, Michigan (2022)North Adams, MI road signage2022North Adams, MI road signageNorth Adams, MI post office2022North Adams, MI post officeNorth Adams, MI library2022North Adams, MI libraryNorth Adams, MI fire department2022North Adams, MI fire departmentMIMap-doton-NorthAdams2005MIMap-doton-NorthAdams
On the map

North Adams on the map, 1959 to 1979

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

North Adams on the 1959 USGS mapNorth Adams on the 1979 USGS map1959North Adams sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of North Adams.

People over time

North Adams, census by census

010020030040050060018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 574

Between 414 and 574 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Questions about North Adams’ history

What year was North Adams founded?

The North Adams post office opened in 1850, 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 →
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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), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.