Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to South Range

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · South Range

South Range dates to 1902, and 45% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1915 on, and the census since 1910.

1902founded
2on the National Register
45%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From South Range’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How South Range began

When was South Range founded?

1902

South Range dates its founding to 1902 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 1,097 in 19102020 census: 750124 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1905.The full story ↓

What stands out about South Range’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,435 in 1920; 750 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of South Range’s homes were built before 1944.On the map since 19154 editions of the USGS map, 1915 to 1975. Watch South Range change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start South Range’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how South Range’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 viewAbandoned mine shaft. South Range, Mich…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

South Range, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,600192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,435

Peaked at 1,435 in 1920; 750 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How South Range came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of South Range.

Read it all →

South Range was platted in 1902 by the Wheal Kate Mining Company, which operated an unsuccessful copper mine nearby. In 1906 the community tried to incorporate as the town of Stanton, but there was already a Stanton, Michigan, so they incorporated as South Range, because it was at the south end of the Michigan copper range. Italians were the dominant ethnic group in early years.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

South Range, 1902 to 1941

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902
    FoundingSouth Range is established
  3. 1915On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 1,435
  5. 1941In the archiveAbandoned mine shaft. South Range, Michigan
By decade

South Range, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s2 items
Abandoned mine shaft. South Range, Michigan1941Abandoned mine shaft. South Range, MichiganAbandoned copper mine. South Range, Michigan1941Abandoned copper mine. South Range, Michigan
1950s–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

South Range on the map, 1915 to 1975

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

South Range on the 1915 USGS mapSouth Range on the 1946 USGS mapSouth Range on the 1954 USGS mapSouth Range on the 1975 USGS map1915Houghton 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 South Range.

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.

Abandoned mine shaft. South Range, Michigan
Retake this viewAbandoned mine shaft. South Range, Michigan, 1941

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in South Range

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

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

Questions about South Range’s history

What year was South Range founded?

In 1902, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. South Range’s post office opened in 1905, and the census of 1910 counted 1,097 people here.

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 (2), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.