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History · Owendale

Owendale’s post office opened in 1889, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1963 on, and the census since 1910.

1889first post office
0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Owendale began

When was Owendale founded?

1889

The Owendale post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 285 in 19102020 census: 275137 years
Founding year: the first Owendale post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Owendale’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 Owendale’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Owendale’s collection

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

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

Owendale, in brief

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

Owendale is a village in Huron County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, Owendale had a population of 275. The village is within Brookfield Township.

Its first post office opened in 1889. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 241 to 275 (+14%).

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

By decade

Owendale, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Map of Owendale, Michigan (1904)1904Map of Owendale, Michigan (1904)Map
1910s–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
Today1 recent
MIMap-doton-Owendale2005MIMap-doton-Owendale
On the map

Owendale on the map, 1963 to 1984

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

Owendale on the 1963 USGS mapOwendale on the 1984 USGS map1963Owendale 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 Owendale.

People over time

Owendale, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 312

Between 241 and 312 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Owendale

Nobody well known was born in Owendale itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Brewster H. ShawAmerican astronaut · b. 1945
James BrookerAmerican pole vaulter · b. 1902
Helen Thompson GaigeAmerican herpetologist · b. 1890
Larry MacPhailAmerican lawyer · b. 1890
David C. ClarkAmerican politician · b. 1926
Heidi AndrolAmerican television host, reporter and producer · b. 1980

Questions about Owendale’s history

What year was Owendale founded?

The Owendale post office opened in 1889, 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 (2), 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.