Wixom’s post office opened in 1872, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 48% of U.S. towns · #382 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of Wixom was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 117 buildings. Below: maps from 1909 on and the census since 1960.
The Wixom post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Hickville (1839) and West Novi (1854), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,531 in 19602020 census: 17,193154 years
How historic is Wixom?
B−
More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Wixom post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Wixom’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wixom is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #382 of 701 in Michigan. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wixom’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 Wixom’s 67.6 sits above most of its state (92% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 117 historic buildings outnumber those of 90% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.2 points) is firm at this size. 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 Wixom’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The settlement of Wixom dates back to 1831. In the beginning, Wixom was named Sibley's Corners after the first settler, 20 year old philanthropist Alonzo Sibley. Sibley settled in what is today called Commerce Township, where he purchased approximately 80 acres of land. Over time, Sibley purchased about 350 more acres of land. In 1837 Sibley donated a portion of his property for a local cemetery; which was called South Commerce Burial Ground; however, was later changed to Wixom Cemetery. Sibley then became the president of the cemetery association.
Passages that mention Wixom, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Oakland County, Michigan1912 · page 240Read the page →
Read the text
runs along the southwest corner of Lyon township, with South Lyon as a station, while the branch from Toledo to Ludington traverses Xovi, Commerce (extreme southwest corner), Milford, ilighland. Rose and Holly townships. The latter branch embraces as stations, Novi, Wixom, Milford, Highland, Clyde, Rose Center and Holly, and furnishes the county with thirty-two miles of railway.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Wixom, 1839 to 1909
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Wixom post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Wixom rank for history?
Wixom is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #382 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 Wixom?
One place: the Detroit Finnish Co-operative Summer Camp (listed 2007).
How old are the homes in Wixom?
2% of Wixom’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 National Register of Historic Places (1), 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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