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History · Paris

Paris’ post office opened in 1866

Most of Paris was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1959 on.

1866first post office
0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
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Quick answers

How Paris began

When was Paris founded?

1866

The Paris post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 271160 years
Founding year: the first Paris post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Paris’ 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.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Paris’s collection

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

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

How Paris came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Paris.

Read it all →

John Parish is considered the "father" of the village, having arrived in the 1850s and then platting the village in 1865. It was at first named "Parish" after him, but the name later became Paris. A fire on May 26, 1879, destroyed a large portion of the village, including records of Green Township. The Paris ZIP code, 49338, serves the northwest portion of Green Township.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Paris, 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 Paris, Michigan (1900)1900Map of Paris, Michigan (1900)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
On the map

Paris on the map, 1959 to 1987

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

Paris on the 1959 USGS mapParis on the 1987 USGS map1959Reed City sheet · 1:62,500

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

Questions about Paris’ history

What year was Paris founded?

The Paris post office opened in 1866, 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 (1), Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.