Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1831.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Petersburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Petersburg is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Petersburg’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 Petersburg’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (32% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1836.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.0 points).
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 Petersburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area was originally settled by Richard Peters as early as 1824, and he became the first postmaster when the Summerfield post office was established in April 1831. Monroe natives Thomas Cole and Austin Wing formally established the community on land purchased from Peters in 1836. The post office was renamed "Petersburgh" on January 14, 1863. The community incorporated as a village in 1869. The post office name was shortened to Petersburg on December 18, 1893. The village incorporated as a city in 1967.
In 1836, according to Wikidata. Petersburg’s post office opened in 1831, and the census of 1880 counted 420 people here.
How does Petersburg rank for history?
Petersburg is more historic than 72% 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 Petersburg?
30% of Petersburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1955.
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 (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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