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History · Paw Paw Lake

Paw Paw Lake’s post office opened in 1901, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: maps from 1927 on and the census since 2000.

1901first post office

1on the National Register

19%homes built before 1940

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Quick answers

How Paw Paw Lake began

When was Paw Paw Lake founded?

1901

The Paw Paw Lake post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 3,944 in 20002020 census: 3,323125 years

Founding year: the first Paw Paw Lake post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Paw Paw Lake’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 Paw Paw Lake are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Paw Paw Lake’s homes were built before 1963.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Paw Paw Lake’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Paw Paw Lake’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 Paw Paw Lake came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Paw Paw Lake.

Read it all →

The area which became the CDP was the site of a tourist area in the early 20th century. An 1894 Chicago newspaper article was the catalyst in making the shore a resort area, and a rail line extension from nearby Coloma in 1896 started the building boom. Pavilions, hotels, and cottages soon followed, with nationally known acts performing at the pavilions. Most of these buildings no longer exist.

ChaptersDeer Forest

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.

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On the map

Paw Paw Lake on the map, 1927 to 1970

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

1927Benton Harbor 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 Paw Paw Lake.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Paw Paw Lake

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

place listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

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

People over time

Paw Paw Lake, census by census

Between 3,323 and 3,944 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Paw Paw Lake

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

See all →

Kate UptonAmerican model and actress · b. 1992

Ernie HudsonAmerican actor and former U.S. Marine · b. 1945

SinbadAmerican comedian and actor · b. 1956

Reilly OpelkaAmerican tennis player · b. 1997

Wilson ChandlerAmerican basketball player · b. 1987

Roger Craig SmithAmerican actor · b. 1975

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

WatervlietIts storyB⁺ColomaIts storyC⁺

Questions about Paw Paw Lake’s history

What year was Paw Paw Lake founded?

The Paw Paw Lake post office opened in 1901, 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 →

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 Wikipedia, 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.

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