On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ortonville is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ortonville’s overall grade.
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 Ortonville’s 7.5 sits above most of its state (80% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.6 points). Two sources give 1848.
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 Ortonville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ortonville yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Ortonville is a village in north Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The village is within Brandon Township, although some development near the village lies within adjacent Oakland County, Groveland township and Lapeer County, Hadley township. The population was 1,291 as of the 2021 Census estimate. Ortonville lies on the northern edge of Metro Detroit and is approximately 41 miles (66 km) north of Downtown Detroit.
Ortonville was established in 1848. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,442 to 1,376 (-5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Ortonville in 1912
Passages that mention Ortonville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Oakland County, Michigan1912 · page 463Read the page →
Read the text
devoted to the raising of that fruit. The only stream of any size is Kearsley creek, which rises about half a mile southwest of Cranberry lake, takes a generally westwardly course to section 18, thence north through the village of Ortonville, and out of the township into Groveland, over the line of section 6. Its Pioneer SettU'IRS Brandon township is not among the sections of the county which was early settled. Its first land entries, in section 25, in the southeastern
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Ortonville, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
In 1848, according to Wikidata. Ortonville’s post office opened in 1857, and the census of 1880 counted 308 people here.
How does Ortonville rank for history?
Ortonville is more historic than 86% 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.
How old are the homes in Ortonville?
26% of Ortonville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.6 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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