Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1900.
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Stevensville is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Stevensville’s 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.
Founding year: our sources. 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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Stevensville’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Stevensville.
The village was platted in the 1840s by Thomas Stevens, who was a prominent banker from Niles, Michigan, and owned a large tract of land in the area. A.D. Brown made a later addition, and in 1893 the village was incorporated. In 1906, Stevensville's population was 250.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Stevensville.
1970Stevensville sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Stevensville.
Between 206 and 1,268 people in every census since 1900.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Stevensville’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Stevensville itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stevensville is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns. 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.
13% of Stevensville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1974.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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), the Library of Congress (3), 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.
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