On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sylvan Lake is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sylvan Lake’s 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 Sylvan Lake’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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1824.
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 (±7.3 points).
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 Sylvan Lake’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Sylvan Lake yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Sylvan Lake is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern suburb of Detroit, Sylvan Lake is located roughly 26 miles (41.8 km) from downtown Detroit, and borders Pontiac to the east. As of the 2020 census, Sylvan Lake had a population of 1,723. With a land area of 0.51 square miles (1.32 km2), Sylvan Lake is the fourth-smallest city by land area in the state after Clarkston, Petersburg, and neighboring Keego Harbor.
Sylvan Lake was established in 1824. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,720 in 2010, 1,723 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
In 1824, according to Wikidata. Sylvan Lake’s post office opened in 1922, and the census of 1930 counted 799 people here.
How does Sylvan Lake rank for history?
Sylvan Lake is more historic than 68% 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.
How old are the homes in Sylvan Lake?
25% of Sylvan Lake’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1956.
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 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.
