Traverse City’s post office opened in 1854, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 86% of U.S. towns · #94 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
7 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 648 buildings between them. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Traverse City post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1891.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Traverse City’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Traverse City is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #94 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 Traverse City’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 Traverse City’s 417 sits above most of its state (98% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 651 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% 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 (±3.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1891 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Traverse City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Traverse City, building by building, 1884–1920
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.
Prior to European settlement, what is now Traverse City was part of the territory of the Council of Three Fires, an alliance of three Anishinaabe tribes, the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi. The Odawa, who were particularly prevalent in the area, called the area Kitchiwikwedongsing, a name which was often shortened to Wequetong, meaning "place at the head of the great bay". The area was the northern end of what is today known as the Old Indian Trail, a trail which serviced travel for the Hopewell, and later the Anishinaabe, coming to and from the Cadillac area.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Traverse City. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1957Traverse City sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Traverse City.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewPark Place Hotel, 1890
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Traverse City’s page.
The Traverse City post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1891.
How does Traverse City rank for history?
Traverse City is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #94 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 Traverse City?
7 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Perry Hannah House (listed 1972, the first), 3 historic districts, the Boardman Neighborhood Historic District, the Northern Michigan Asylum and the Central Neighborhood Historic District, with 648 contributing buildings, and 2 structures. 651 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Traverse City?
31% of Traverse City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 (8), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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.
1943
1943
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