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A+History
History · Plainwell

Plainwell’s post office opened in 1833, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 95% of U.S. towns · #33 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

5 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 184 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1884 on and the census since 1870.

1833first post office
5on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
8famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Plainwell began

When was Plainwell founded?

1833

The Plainwell post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,035 in 18702020 census: 3,788193 years

How historic is Plainwell?

A+

More historic than 95% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Plainwell’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Plainwell is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #33 of 701 in Michigan. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.

A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Plainwell’s overall grade.
Founding era1833, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194026.1% of homes (±9.4) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register5 listings, 186 historic buildings, 494 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 95%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 95%

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 Plainwell’s 494 sits above most of its state (98% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 186 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.4 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 Plainwell’s past

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

A historic districtThe Island Historic District takes in 139 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Plainwell are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1918, drew every building in Plainwell.On the map since 19164 editions of the USGS map, 1916 to 1973. Watch Plainwell change.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

5 listings protect 186 historic buildings

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

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
186
each building in a district counts
first listed
1991
Cherry DeLefebvre House
Cherry DeLefebvre House, built 1893Eesley, J. F., Milling Co. Flour Mill-Elevator, built 1870Island Historic DistrictWest Bridge Street Historic DistrictMichigan Paper Company Mill Historic District
BuildingsDistrictsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival2
Bungalow/Craftsman2
Italianate2
Late Victorian1
Eastlake1
I-House, Gabled-Ell1
Cherry DeLefebvre HouseLate Victorian · Built 1893
Eesley, J. F., Milling Co. Flour Mill-ElevatorBuilt 1870
Island Historic DistrictI-House, Gabled-Ell
West Bridge Street Historic DistrictItalianate
Michigan Paper Company Mill Historic DistrictSlow Burning Construction/Mill Construction

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

Help out

Start Plainwell’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Plainwell, building by building, 1884–1918

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Plainwell fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Plainwell came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Plainwell.

Read it all →

This part of Michigan was settled in the 1830s, after the removal of native people. Allegan County was organized in 1835, and the Plainwell area was settled soon after. It was on a stagecoach route from Kalamazoo to Grand Rapids, and later the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad was constructed along the same route. After the advent of the automobile, U.S. Route 131 was created and run through the town. In the 1960s, an improved 4-lane US-131 was built west of town to connect Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids, with an interchange on M-89 between Plainwell and Otsego. This allowed the town to become a kind of "bedroom community" for Kalamazoo or the southern part of Grand Rapids.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Plainwell, 1833 to 1994

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1833Post officeThe Plainwell post office opens
  3. 1870BuiltEesley, J. F., Milling Co. Flour Mill-Elevator is built
  4. 1881Born hereFay-Cooper Cole is born here
  5. 1893BuiltCherry DeLefebvre House is built
  6. 20th century
  7. 1915Born hereBob Sims is born here
  8. 1916On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1963Born hereEd Gale is born here
  10. 1994Born hereJack Conklin is born here
By decade

Plainwell, decade by decade

Today18 recent
Bittersweet Ski Resort2021Bittersweet Ski ResortSherwood Park (1)2019Sherwood Park (1)Plainwell2019PlainwellPlainwell Veterans Memorial2019Plainwell Veterans MemorialPlainwell Dog Park2019Plainwell Dog ParkPlainwell City Hall2019Plainwell City HallHicks Park2019Hicks ParkFannie Pell Park2019Fannie Pell ParkCharles A. Ransom District Library2019Charles A. Ransom District LibraryMichigan Paper Co2014Michigan Paper CoWest Bridge2013West BridgeMichigan Paper2013Michigan PaperJames Noble Sherwood2013James Noble SherwoodEssley Mill2013Essley MillCherry DeLefebvre2013Cherry DeLefebvreCircus Train2011Circus TrainGrand trunk western caboose2008Grand trunk western cabooseMIMap-doton-Plainwell2005MIMap-doton-Plainwell
On the map

Plainwell on the map, 1916 to 1973

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

Plainwell on the 1916 USGS mapPlainwell on the 1943 USGS mapPlainwell on the 1967 USGS mapPlainwell on the 1973 USGS map1916Kalamazoo 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 Plainwell.

People over time

Plainwell, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,057

Between 1,035 and 4,057 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Famous people

8 famous people were born in Plainwell

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

See all →
E
Ed GaleAmerican actor · b. 1963
Jack ConklinAmerican football player · b. 1994
B
Bob SimsAmerican basketball player · b. 1915
F
Fay-Cooper ColeAmerican anthropologist · b. 1881
M
Mancel Thornton MunnAmerican botanist · b. 1887
A
Anna Lillian WinegarAmerican painter and book illustrator · b. 1867
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Gun Plain Township1 historic placeB−Otsego TownshipIts storyB−

Questions about Plainwell’s history

What year was Plainwell founded?

The Plainwell post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Plainwell rank for history?

Plainwell is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #33 of 701 in Michigan. 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.

What is on the National Register in Plainwell?

5 listings: 1 building, among them the Cherry DeLefebvre House (listed 1991, the first), 3 historic districts, the Island Historic District, the West Bridge Street Historic District and the Michigan Paper Company Mill Historic District, with 184 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 186 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Plainwell?

26% of Plainwell’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1971.

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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.