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History · Port Austin

Port Austin’s post office opened in 1856, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Port Austin was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1880.

1856first post office
3on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Port Austin’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Port Austin began

When was Port Austin founded?

1856

The Port Austin post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 757 in 18802020 census: 622170 years
Founding year: the first Port Austin post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Port Austin’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 883 in 1970; 622 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1909, drew every building in Port Austin.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Port Austin’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPort Austin Reef lights, Pointe aux Bar…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Port Austin, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 883

Peaked at 883 in 1970; 622 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Every building

Port Austin, building by building, 1884–1909

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.

Port Austin 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 so far

Port Austin, in brief

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

Port Austin is a village in Huron County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, Port Austin had a population of 622. The village is within Port Austin Township.

Its first post office opened in 1856. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 664 to 622 (-6%).

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

Timeline

Port Austin, 1873 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Born hereV. Floyd Campbell is born here
  3. 1895In the archivePort Austin Reef lights, Pointe aux Barques, Mich
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900In the archiveBroken rocks
  6. 1938Born hereNapoleon Chagnon is born here
  7. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 883
By decade

Port Austin, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1900s4 items
Port Austin Reef lights, Pointe aux Barques, Mich1895Port Austin Reef lights, Pointe aux Barques, MichBroken rocks1900Broken rocksThe cove, broken rocks1900The cove, broken rocksNatural bridge, broken rocks1900Natural bridge, broken rocks
1910s–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
On the map

Port Austin on the map in 1970

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Port Austin.

Port Austin on the 1970 USGS map1970Port Austin East sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Port Austin.

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.

Port Austin Reef lights, Pointe aux Barques, Mich
Retake this viewPort Austin Reef lights, Pointe aux Barques, Mich, 1895

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Port Austin

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Port Austin

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

See all →
N
Napoleon ChagnonAmerican anthropologist · b. 1938
V. Floyd CampbellAmerican illustrator · b. 1873

Questions about Port Austin’s history

What year was Port Austin founded?

The Port Austin post office opened in 1856, 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 the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (2), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.