More historic than 54% of U.S. towns · #329 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of St. Clair Shores was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1957. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1936 on, and the census since 1930.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1899.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives St. Clair Shores’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, St. Clair Shores is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #329 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 St. Clair Shores’ 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 St. Clair Shores’ 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 1710.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size.
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 St. Clair Shores’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Located along the shores of Lake St. Clair and inhabited by French settlers as early as 1710, during which time the area was referred to as L'anse Creuse, the future St. Clair Shores would remain mainly a rural farming area populated by largely French and German immigrant families into the early 20th century. These local family surnames have survived into the 21st century and can be found in the surnames of current residents and among numerous residential street names.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of St. Clair Shores. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1936Grosse Pointe sheet · 1:31,680
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of St. Clair Shores.
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.
Retake this viewGreat Lakes Yacht Club - Aerial Photo (1965), 1965
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on St. Clair Shores’ page.
In 1710, according to Wikidata. St. Clair Shores’ post office opened in 1899, and the census of 1930 counted 6,745 people here.
How does St. Clair Shores rank for history?
St. Clair Shores is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #329 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 St. Clair Shores?
6% of St. Clair Shores’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1957.
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 (6), 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.
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