St. Johns’ post office opened in 1855, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 67% of U.S. towns · #221 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Giles J. Gibbs Building-Sugar Bowl. Its Register listing is the Giles J. Gibbs Building-Sugar Bowl. Below: 2 old photos and papers from 1906 on and the census since 1880.
The St. Johns post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Bingham (1851), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 2,370 in 18802020 census: 7,698171 years
How historic is St. Johns?
B+
More historic than 67% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first St. Johns post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives St. Johns’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, St. Johns is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #221 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 St. Johns’ 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. Johns’ 1.3 sits above most of its state (67% 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 C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 St. Johns’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
St. Johns was conceived as a station for the Detroit and Milwaukee Railway in late 1853. The location lie in a forest in Bingham Township, and the site was cleared and settled by the middle of 1854. The settlement was formally incorporated as a village within the township on October 15, 1857. The village incorporated as a city in 1904.
The settlement was named after Michigan Auditor-General John Swegles, who was part of the party sent to scout a site for the station.
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.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
St. Johns, census by census
Between 2,370 and 7,865 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on St. Johns’ Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Bingham, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Bingham
1851–1855
Saint Johns
1855–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Saint JohnsSaint Johns Mobile Home Village
Gone or out of use
Central SchoolschoolSaint Johns Stationlocale
1cemetery inside St. Johns
Mount Rest
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about St. Johns’ history
What year was St. Johns founded?
The St. Johns post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does St. Johns rank for history?
St. Johns is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #221 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 St. Johns?
One place: the Giles J. Gibbs Building-Sugar Bowl (listed 2000).
How old are the homes in St. Johns?
30% of St. Johns’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1967.
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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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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