Founding year: the first Richmond post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1878.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Richmond’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Richmond is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #112 of 701 in Michigan. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Richmond’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 Richmond’s 1.7 sits above most of its state (68% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
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 (±8.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1878.
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 Richmond’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
In 1835, Erastus Beebe set out with two brothers and several other people to create a new city out of a wilderness area in Michigan. He founded Beebe's Corners, which in 1878 agreed to join with the two nearest neighboring communities of Ridgeway and Cooper Town to form the village of Richmond. In 1879, the Michigan Legislature officially created the village charter. In 1989, the city annexed the Muttonville area of Lenox Township, parts of Richmond Township in Macomb County, and part of Casco and Columbus Townships in St. Clair County.
Passages that mention Richmond, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Macomb County, Michigan, containing ... biographical sketches, portraits of prominent men and early settlers1882Read the page →
Read the text
The township of Richmond was organized under Legislative authority March 6, 1838. The new township comprised within its boundaries Town 5 north, of Range 14 east. The first meeting was held at the house oi George Perkins, or rather on the wood-pile close by.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Macomb County, Michigan, containing ... biographical sketches, portraits of prominent men and early settlers1882 · page 335Read the page →
Read the text
The Review lias alwajs been independent in politics, and devoted to the local interests of the village of its nativity. It is now a six-column eight-page paper, successful, bright and enterprising, and a fair exponent of the intelligence and thrift of the pleasant village of Richmond.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The Richmond post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1878.
How does Richmond rank for history?
Richmond is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #112 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 Richmond?
One place: the First Congregational Church (listed 1975).
How old are the homes in Richmond?
25% of Richmond’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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