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AHistory
History · Vassar

Vassar dates to 1849, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 89% of U.S. towns · #69 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1880.

1849founded
4on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Vassar’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Vassar began

When was Vassar founded?

1849

Vassar dates its founding to 1849 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 670 in 18802020 census: 2,727177 years

How historic is Vassar?

A

More historic than 89% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1851.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Vassar’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Vassar is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #69 of 701 in Michigan. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Vassar’s overall grade.
Founding era1849, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194024.8% of homes (±7.1) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register4 listings, 14.8 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 89%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 90%

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 Vassar’s 14.8 sits above most of its state (86% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.1 points). Two sources give 1849.

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 Vassar’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1909, drew every building in Vassar.Deep rootsEstablished in 1849: 177 years of Vassar.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Vassar’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Vassar’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewTownsendNorthHouse1883: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Vassar, building by building, 1884–1909

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.

Vassar fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Vassar, 1849 to 1980

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1849
    FoundingVassar is established
  3. 1851BuiltSmith House is built
  4. 1851Post officeThe Vassar post office opens
  5. 1865BuiltTownsend North House is built
  6. 1875Born hereBilly Liesaw is born here
  7. 1883In the archiveTownsendNorthHouse1883
  8. 20th century
  9. 1900Born hereGage Clarke is born here
  10. 1916In the archive1916mckinleyschoolvassar
  11. 1963On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1980Born hereJacob E. Schlereth is born here
The story

How Vassar came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Vassar.

Read it all →

Vassar was founded by four men who were led by James M. Edmunds and Townsend North in search of an area to build a dam and start a city. The city was named after Edmunds' uncle, Matthew Vassar, who later founded Vassar College.

It was the first county seat of Tuscola County. In 1860, the seat was moved to Caro. Vassar's growth for the next thirty years was based mainly on its lumbering and a handful of related industries.

The settlement became a village in 1871. Vassar was the crossing of the Michigan Central's Bay City Branch (from Detroit) and the Port Huron & Northwestern (from 1900 Pere Marquette) line running between Saginaw and Port Huron via Marlette.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Vassar, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1910s2 items
TownsendNorthHouse18831883TownsendNorthHouse18831916mckinleyschoolvassar19161916mckinleyschoolvassar
1920s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Date unknown1 to date
Cottrell Road Bridge, Spanning CSX Transportation tracksDate?Cottrell Road Bridge, Spanning CSX Transportation tra…
Today5 recent
A giant Santa Claus figure welcomes customers to the Pennywick Tree Farm outside Vassar, Michigan2019A giant Santa Claus figure welcomes customers to the …Townsend North House2014Townsend North HouseSmith House2014Smith HouseMcKinley School2014McKinley SchoolHotel Columbia2014Hotel Columbia
On the map

Vassar on the map, 1963 to 1990

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Vassar. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Vassar on the 1963 USGS mapVassar on the 1974 USGS mapVassar on the 1984 USGS mapVassar on the 1990 USGS map1963Vassar sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Vassar.

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.

TownsendNorthHouse1883
Retake this viewTownsendNorthHouse1883, 1883

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Vassar’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

4 historic places in Vassar

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Smith House
Smith House, built 1851McKinley SchoolTownsend North House, built 1865Hotel Columbia
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Eastlake1
Queen Anne1
Romanesque1
Smith HouseBuilt 1851
McKinley SchoolBuilding
Townsend North HouseEastlake · Built 1865
Hotel ColumbiaRomanesque

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Vassar, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,823

Between 670 and 2,823 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Vassar’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Vassar

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
G
Gage ClarkeAmerican actor · b. 1900
Billy LiesawAmerican racing driver · b. 1875
Jacob E. SchlerethAmerican army soldier · b. 1980
Places that used to be

Old corners

Vassar’s post office has been open since 1851.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Partridge's RV and Mobile Home Park

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Vassar TownshipIts storyC+Tuscola Township1 historic placeA

Questions about Vassar’s history

What year was Vassar founded?

In 1849, according to Wikidata. Vassar’s post office opened in 1851, and the census of 1880 counted 670 people here.

How does Vassar rank for history?

Vassar is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #69 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 Vassar?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Smith House (listed 1972, the first).

How old are the homes in Vassar?

25% of Vassar’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1964.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (6), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.