Founding year: the first St. Louis post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives St. Louis’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, St. Louis is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #156 of 701 in Michigan. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of St. Louis’ 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. Louis’ 36.6 sits above most of its state (89% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 27 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% 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 (±6.7 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. Louis’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Indigenous people lived in this area for thousands of years before European contact. The French were early explorers in present-day Michigan. They established fur trading with the historic First Nations and Native American nations. By the 18th century, the Ojibwe were the dominant tribe in present-day Michigan. After the Seven Years' War, France was forced to cede its New France territory to the victorious English, who increased fur trade at Sault Ste. Marie. After the rebellious colonists' victory in the American Revolutionary War, the territory changed hands again, being ceded to the new United States.
The St. Louis post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does St. Louis rank for history?
St. Louis is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns, #156 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. Louis?
One place: the Saint Louis Downtown Historic District (listed 2014).
How old are the homes in St. Louis?
23% of St. Louis’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1966.
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 (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
2021
2006
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