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B−History
History · Pigeon

Pigeon’s post office opened in 1890, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 47% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 6 old photos and papers from 1904 on.

1890first post office
0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pigeon’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pigeon began

When was Pigeon founded?

1890

The Pigeon post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,222136 years

How historic is Pigeon?

B−

More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Pigeon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Pigeon’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pigeon is more historic than 47% 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 Pigeon’s overall grade.
Founding era1890, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194025.7% of homes (±6.9) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%A−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MI town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 47%
NewerOlder

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 Pigeon’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.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Pigeon’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Old housesHalf of Pigeon’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · The story so far

Pigeon, in brief

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

Pigeon is a village in Huron County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, Pigeon had a population of 1,222. The village is within Winsor Township.

Its first post office opened in 1890. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,208 in 2010, 1,222 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Pigeon, 1904 to 1959

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1904In the archiveMap of Pigeon, Michigan (1904)
  3. 1910In the archiveEvangical Church, Parsonage
  4. 1926Born hereAlvin J. DeGrow is born here
  5. 1959Born hereTerry Brown is born here
By decade

Pigeon, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s6 items
Map of Pigeon, Michigan (1904)1904Map of Pigeon, Michigan (1904)MapEvangical Church, Parsonage1910Evangical Church, ParsonageView on Main St1910View on Main StView on Main St1910View on Main StMain St. looking south1910Main St. looking southView from Harty House, south1910View from Harty House, south
1920s–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
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Evangical Church, Parsonage
Retake this viewEvangical Church, Parsonage, 1910

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Pigeon’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Pigeon

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Alvin J. DeGrowAmerican politician · b. 1926
T
Terry BrownAmerican politician · b. 1959
Help out

Finish Pigeon’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewEvangical Church, Parsonage: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Pigeon’s history

What year was Pigeon founded?

The Pigeon post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Pigeon rank for history?

Pigeon is more historic than 47% 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 Pigeon?

26% of Pigeon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1962.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (5) and Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.