More historic than 48% of U.S. towns · #376 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of Potterville was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Below: maps from 1958 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1870.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Potterville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Potterville is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #376 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Potterville’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 Potterville’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 1844.
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 (±4.4 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 Potterville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Potterville is named for the family of Linus Potter (b. 1798), who settled in the area in November of 1845. He lived on a homestead there with his wife Diana until 1846, when he died suddenly of "over laboring in his harvest field, and drinking too freely of cold water." He was buried on his own farm, on what is now the lot on the southwest corner of Main Street and Hartel Road, though later his body was moved to a plot in the Benton Township Cemetery. His wife and seven children (George, Maria "Louisa", Theodore Edgar, Charles, Sarah, John and James) stayed in Potterville after his death.
In 1844, according to Wikidata. Potterville’s post office opened in 1870, and the census of 1880 counted 471 people here.
How does Potterville rank for history?
Potterville is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #376 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.
How old are the homes in Potterville?
9% of Potterville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1994.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
