Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 38% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1880.
Tawas City dates its founding to 1854 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.
More historic than 38% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tawas City is more historic than 38% 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 Tawas City’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: 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 →
From Wikipedia’s history of Tawas City.
Tawas City was founded in 1854 as the first city to be located on the shores of Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron north of Bay City, Michigan. Tawas City was designated as the county seat of Iosco County, and the first post office was established Jan. 6, 1856, with James O. Whittemore appointed postmaster.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereGeorge Prescott is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archiveDetroit and Mackinac 1210, 481, and 10 at Tawas City, MI on October 2, 1988
Born hereJeff Janis is born hereOne decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1988Detroit and Mackinac 1210, 481, and 10 at Tawas City,…
1988Detroit and Mackinac 4610 at Tawas City, MI on Octobe…
1988Detroit and Mackinac Caboose 206 at Tawas City, MI on…
1988Detroit and Mackinac Rwy Obs Car 2 at Tawas City, MI …
1988Detroit and Mackinac Turntable at Tawas City, MI on O…
1988Indian Trading Post and Museum sign, Route 23, Tawas …Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Tawas City. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Tawas City.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1884Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Tawas City’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 712 and 2,009 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Tawas City’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Tawas City’s post office has been open since 1856.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1854, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Tawas City’s post office opened in 1856, and the census of 1880 counted 712 people here.
Tawas City is more historic than 38% 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.
17% of Tawas City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1969.
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 (9), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2025
2014
2007