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B+History
History · Watervliet

Watervliet’s post office opened in 1848, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 68% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1895 on and the census since 1880.

1848first post office
0on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Watervliet began

When was Watervliet founded?

1848

The Watervliet post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 179 in 18802020 census: 1,669178 years

How historic is Watervliet?

B+

More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Watervliet post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Watervliet’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Watervliet 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 Watervliet’s overall grade.
Founding era1848, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194025.2% of homes (±10.8) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%A−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MI town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 68%
NewerOlder

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 Watervliet’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.

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 (±10.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 Watervliet’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Watervliet are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1895 to 1909, drew every building in Watervliet.Deep rootsA post office since 1848: 178 years of Watervliet.Old housesHalf of Watervliet’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Watervliet’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Watervliet, building by building, 1895–1909

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.

Watervliet fire insurance map, 1895, sheet 11895Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How Watervliet came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Watervliet.

Read it all →

In 1905, John Olsen and Maud Nelson moved here where they established a women's baseball team. Both of them had experience in the game. The "Cherokee Indian Baseball Team" set out in its Pullman car in the same year complete with an electric light facility, a grand stand and a 12 by 1200 foot fence. Nelson, who was born in Italy, was on the team. She was billed by her husband, Olsen, as the undisputed women's champion pitcher of the world.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Watervliet, decade by decade

Today13 recent
St. Joseph-Watervliet2021St. Joseph-WatervlietWatervliet fire trucks2007Watervliet fire trucksWatervliet fire trucks 22007Watervliet fire trucks 2UFO by Watervliet, Michigan airport2007UFO by Watervliet, Michigan airportOmfg bridge out2007Omfg bridge outWatervliet PA2100402006Watervliet PA210040Watervliet PA2100392006Watervliet PA210039Watervliet PA2100382006Watervliet PA210038Watervliet PA2100332006Watervliet PA210033Watervliet PA2100322006Watervliet PA210032Watervliet PA2100312006Watervliet PA210031Paw Paw River PA2100412006Paw Paw River PA210041MIMap-doton-Watervliet2005MIMap-doton-Watervliet
On the map

Watervliet on the map, 1927 to 1970

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

Watervliet on the 1927 USGS mapWatervliet on the 1930 USGS mapWatervliet on the 1970 USGS map1927Benton Harbor 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 Watervliet.

People over time

Watervliet, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,059

Between 179 and 2,059 people in every census since 1880.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Paw Paw Lake1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Watervliet’s history

What year was Watervliet founded?

The Watervliet post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Watervliet rank for history?

Watervliet 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 Watervliet?

25% of Watervliet’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1957.

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 (13), Wikipedia, 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.