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History · Whitmore Lake

Whitmore Lake’s post office opened in 1854

Most of Whitmore Lake was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: maps from 1965 on and the census since 1990.

1854first post office
0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Whitmore Lake began

When was Whitmore Lake founded?

1854

The Whitmore Lake post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 3,251 in 19902020 census: 7,584172 years
Founding year: the first Whitmore Lake post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Whitmore Lake’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 Whitmore Lake are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Whitmore Lake’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Whitmore Lake came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Whitmore Lake.

Read it all →

The area was first settled by land surveyors Johnathon Stratton and Luke Whitmore, who came here from nearby Ann Arbor settlement in 1825. Stratton suggested the name of the new area and the surrounding lake as Whitmore, and it became mapped under that name. In 1829, Whitmore owned land in the area and became the first county treasurer. A post office began operating here on June 9, 1834, with George Dexter serving as the first postmaster. The post office was first named Northfield after its northern location in Northfield Township, but it was changed to Whitmore Lake on December 27, 1854.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Whitmore Lake, decade by decade

Today11 recent
Whitmore Lake, MI road signage2023Whitmore Lake, MI road signageWhitmore Lake, MI post office2023Whitmore Lake, MI post officeWhitmore Lake, MI (July 2023)2023Whitmore Lake, MI (July 2023)Dot Foods Distribution Truck2012Dot Foods Distribution TruckCharter Communications Telephone service van2012Charter Communications Telephone service vanWhitmore Lake. 4th of July, 20112011Whitmore Lake. 4th of July, 2011Wesley United Methodist Church, 9318 Main Street2011Wesley United Methodist Church, 9318 Main StreetThad McCotter announcement2011Thad McCotter announcementWhitmore Lake Michigan2010Whitmore Lake MichiganMain Street2010Main StreetMIMap-doton-WhitmoreLake2005MIMap-doton-WhitmoreLake
On the map

Whitmore Lake on the map, 1965 to 1983

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

Whitmore Lake on the 1965 USGS mapWhitmore Lake on the 1975 USGS mapWhitmore Lake on the 1983 USGS map1965Hamburg 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 Whitmore Lake.

People over time

Whitmore Lake, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,000200020207,584

Grew from 3,251 people in 1990 to 7,584 in 2020.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Whitmore Lake

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

See all →
D
Dax ShepardAmerican podcaster and actor · b. 1975
Marie TharpAmerican oceanographer and cartographer · b. 1920
E
Ella AndersonAmerican actress and singer-songwriter · b. 2005
G
George DoleOlympic wrestler · b. 1885
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Northfield Township8 historic placesA−Webster Township1 historic placeB+Green Oak Township2 historic placesB

Questions about Whitmore Lake’s history

What year was Whitmore Lake founded?

The Whitmore Lake post office opened in 1854, 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 →
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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 (11), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.