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History · Omer

Omer dates to 1866, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Second Arenac County Courthouse. Below: maps from 1968 on and the census since 1910.

1866founded
1on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Omer began

When was Omer founded?

1866

Omer dates its founding to 1866 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 367 in 19102020 census: 274160 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1883.The full story ↓

What stands out about Omer’s 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 Omer are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Omer’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Omer’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Omer came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Omer.

Read it all →

Omer was founded by George Gorie and George Carscallen, who set up a sawmill along the Rifle River in 1866. The town was originally named Rifle River Mills, but Carscallen, the first postmaster, wanted to rename the town Homer. However, he found a post office in another town called Homer, Michigan and simply dropped the leading H, producing the final name. The community received a station on the Detroit and Mackinaw Railroad, while in 1872 the area was platted. In 1883, Omer was split off from Bay County into the newly formed Arenac County.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Omer, 1866 to 1968

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866
    FoundingOmer is established
  3. 1883Post officeThe Omer post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1968On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Omer, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Omer, MI post office2025Omer, MI post officeOmer, MI (2025)2025Omer, MI (2025)Omer Masonic Hall historic marker2025Omer Masonic Hall historic markerMasonic Hall2025Masonic HallOmerMichigan sign2018OmerMichigan signSecond Arenac County Courthouse2007Second Arenac County Courthouse
On the map

Omer on the map, 1968 to 1984

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

Omer on the 1968 USGS mapOmer on the 1984 USGS map1968Omer 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 Omer.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Omer

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Second Arenac County Courthouse
Second Arenac County Courthouse
Buildings
Second Arenac County CourthouseBuilding

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

People over time

Omer, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020Peak: 403

Between 216 and 403 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Questions about Omer’s history

What year was Omer founded?

In 1866, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Omer’s post office opened in 1883, and the census of 1910 counted 367 people here.

What is on the National Register in Omer?

One place: the Second Arenac County Courthouse (listed 1982).

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), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.