Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Westphalia

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Westphalia

Westphalia’s post office opened in 1851, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1936 on.

1851first post office
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Westphalia’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Westphalia began, and where its name came from

When was Westphalia founded?

1851

The Westphalia post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 924175 years

How did Westphalia get its name?

Westphalia was named after the province of Westphalia in Germany.

Founding year: the first Westphalia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Westphalia’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Westphalia’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewWestphalia Michigan Log church: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Westphalia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Westphalia.

Read it all →

Westphalia was founded in 1836 by a group of German settlers. It was named after the province of Westphalia in Germany.

These settlers were German Catholics who emigrated from the Westphalian cities of Wimbach, Meerhof, and from Hesse, among others, and found the rich soil ideal for farming. Some family members stayed in Detroit, while others moved into the wilderness to clear farmland. The German-Catholic parish was established almost immediately after the settlers arrived. After buying the land at Ionia, Father Anton Kopp traveled to Detroit to visit Bishop Friedrich Reese, and returned to his assigned parish in September 1837, where he celebrated Masses in the homes of the settlers in what is now St. Mary's Parish.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Westphalia, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
Westphalia Michigan Log church1936Westphalia Michigan Log church
1940s–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
Today2 recent
Westphalia2019WestphaliaWestphalia sign2015Westphalia sign
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.

Westphalia Michigan Log church
Retake this viewWestphalia Michigan Log church, 1936

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Westphalia

Nobody well known was born in Westphalia itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Leo BurnettAmerican advertising executive · b. 1891
Jordyn WieberAmerican artistic gymnast · b. 1995
Robert AsprinAmerican science fiction and fantasy author · b. 1946
L
Leonard ReadAmerican academic · b. 1898
Matt GreeneAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1983
Reid BoucherAmerican hockey player · b. 1993

Questions about Westphalia’s history

What year was Westphalia founded?

The Westphalia post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3) and Wikipedia. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.