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B+History
History · Rogers City

Rogers City dates to 1868, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 70% of U.S. towns · #202 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Radka-Bradley House and the Rogers Theater. Below: maps from 1971 on and the census since 1880.

1868founded
2on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Rogers City began

When was Rogers City founded?

1868

Rogers City dates its founding to 1868 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 325 in 18802020 census: 2,850158 years

How historic is Rogers City?

B+

More historic than 70% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1864.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Rogers City’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rogers City is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #202 of 701 in Michigan. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rogers City’s overall grade.
Founding era1868, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194024.9% of homes (±7.4) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register2 listings, 6.9 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 70%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 71%

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 Rogers City’s 6.9 sits above most of its state (79% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±7.4 points). Two sources give 1868.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Rogers City’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Rogers City are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Rogers City, and 2 old place names are still on the map.Boom and bustPeaked at 4,722 in 1960; 2,850 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Rogers City’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rogers City’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rogers City’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Rogers City had its own post office from 1872 to 1895. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Crawford's Quarry
1864–1894
Rogers' Mills
1870–1872
Rogers City
1872–1895
Quarry
1895–1900
Rogers
1895–1924
Rogers City
1924–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CalcitePresque Isle Estates
Gone or out of use
Quarry Post Officepost officeRogers City Stationlocale
1cemetery inside Rogers City
Rogers City Memorial Park

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

People over time

Rogers City, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,722

Peaked at 4,722 in 1960; 2,850 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Rogers City came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rogers City.

Read it all →

Rogers City was established in 1868, when William Evans Rogers, Albert Molitor, Frederick Denny Larke, and John Raymond arrived to survey the area and for logging. Molitor came to be seen as a despot by many residents and was assassinated in 1875. In 1870, a post office opened in the settlement under the name Rogers' Mills, though this name was changed several times; to Rogers City in 1872, to Rogers in 1895, and back to Rogers City in 1928. The community was incorporated as a village in 1877, and as a city in 1944.

On November 15, 1958, the freighter, SS Carl D. Bradley, sank in a storm on Lake Michigan. Of the 35 crew members, 33 died in the sinking, and 23 were from Rogers City, the ship's home port.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Rogers City, 1864 to 1977

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1864Post officeThe Crawford's Quarry post office opens
  3. 1868
    FoundingRogers City is established
  4. 1870Post officeThe Rogers' Mills post office opens
  5. 1872Post officeThe Rogers' Mills post office closes
  6. 1872Post officeThe Rogers City post office opens
  7. 1894Post officeThe Crawford's Quarry post office closes
  8. 1895Post officeThe Rogers City post office closes
  9. 20th century
  10. 1937BuiltRogers Theater is built
  11. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 4,722
  12. 1971On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1977Born hereHolly Bruder is born here
By decade

Rogers City, decade by decade

Today16 recent
Rogers Theater — Rogers City, Michigan2023Rogers Theater — Rogers City, MichiganTugboat Nancy Anne2020Tugboat Nancy AnneSenator Stabenow meets with students and faculty from Rogers City High School2017Senator Stabenow meets with students and faculty from…Rogers city2016Rogers cityRogers city marina2016Rogers city marinaRogers city lakeside2016Rogers city lakesideTrout River Rogers City Michigan2015Trout River Rogers City MichiganWaters Edge Restaurant2009Waters Edge RestaurantThe Pavilion Grill2009The Pavilion GrillThe Lighthouse Restaurant ^ Lounge2009The Lighthouse Restaurant ^ LoungeRoostertail2009RoostertailKarsten's Restaurant2009Karsten's RestaurantChi-Chi's2009Chi-Chi'sChee Peng Chinese ^ Thai Restaurant2009Chee Peng Chinese ^ Thai RestaurantBlack Bear Cafe2009Black Bear CafeMIMap-doton-RogersCity2005MIMap-doton-RogersCity
On the map

Rogers City on the map, 1971 to 1984

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

Rogers City on the 1971 USGS mapRogers City on the 1984 USGS map1971Rogers City 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 Rogers City.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Rogers City

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1991
Radka-Bradley House
Radka-Bradley HouseRogers Theater, built 1937
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Bungalow/Craftsman1
Radka-Bradley HouseBungalow/Craftsman
All 2 listings
Rogers TheaterBuilding · listed 2024

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Rogers Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPulawski TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Rogers City’s history

What year was Rogers City founded?

In 1868, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Rogers City’s post office opened in 1864, and the census of 1880 counted 325 people here.

How does Rogers City rank for history?

Rogers City is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #202 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 Rogers City?

Two places: the Radka-Bradley House (listed 1991) and the Rogers Theater (2024).

How old are the homes in Rogers City?

25% of Rogers City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1956.

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 (16), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) 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.