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Pelkie School HousePhoto: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Pelkie

Pelkie’s post office opened in 1903, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1954 on.

1903first post office
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
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Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Pelkie began

When was Pelkie founded?

1903

The Pelkie post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 51123 years
Founding year: the first Pelkie post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Pelkie’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 Pelkie are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pelkie’s collection

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

From Wikipedia’s history of Pelkie.

Read it all →

Pelkie was settled by French Canadians in about 1885, and was first known as "King's Landing" and was renamed Pelkie after an early settler, William Pelkie. Finns who settled there initially called the place Kyrö, after the place they came from in Finland; however, Kyro Location is now regarded as a distinct town from Pelkie. The name became Kuro after a railroad was built through the area. Because many Finns settled in the area, the Finnish name Pelkinen has been suggested as the original. However, the name actually was derived from a former French-Canadian settler. It was a station on the Mineral Range Railroad, and a post office was established on April 30, 1903. The Pelkie ZIP code 49958 serves areas in the north and northwest of Baraga Township in Baraga County, as well as an area of northeast Laird Township, southwest Elm River Township, and southern Portage Township in Houghton C…

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.

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On the map

Pelkie on the map, 1954 to 1999

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

Pelkie on the 1954 USGS mapPelkie on the 1985 USGS mapPelkie on the 1999 USGS map1954Pelkie 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 Pelkie.

Famous people

Famous people close to Pelkie

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

See all →
Eugene ParkerAmerican astronomer · b. 1927
Nancy Harkness LoveAmerican aviator · b. 1914
Verna HillieAmerican actress · b. 1914
Rodney PaavolaAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1939
D
Donald G. SaariAmerican mathematician, expert on voting method… · b. 1940
J
James Peter DavisCatholic archbishop · b. 1904

Questions about Pelkie’s history

What year was Pelkie founded?

The Pelkie post office opened in 1903, 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 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.