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History · Zeba

Zeba’s post office opened in 1910, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Zeba was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: maps from 1954 on.

1910first post office
1on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Paul R. Burley · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Zeba began

When was Zeba founded?

1910

The Zeba post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 397116 years
Founding year: the first Zeba post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

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

Start Zeba’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Zeba’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
The story

How Zeba came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Zeba.

Read it all →

The community was named Zeba (which means river in the Ojibwa language) because of a small stream that runs southeast of it. A post office operated here from September 3, 1910, until June 30, 1912, and from April 16, 1913, until November 30, 1933. Zeba is where the original hangers are from. The Zeba Indian United Methodist Church is designated as a Michigan State Historic Site.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Zeba on the map, 1954 to 1985

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

Zeba on the 1954 USGS mapZeba on the 1985 USGS map1954Keweenaw Bay 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 Zeba.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Zeba

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Zeba

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

See all →
Eugene ParkerAmerican astronomer · b. 1927
Nancy Harkness LoveAmerican aviator · b. 1914
Verna HillieAmerican actress · b. 1914
Rodney PaavolaAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1939
D
Donald G. SaariAmerican mathematician, expert on voting method… · b. 1940
J
James Peter DavisCatholic archbishop · b. 1904

Questions about Zeba’s history

What year was Zeba founded?

The Zeba post office opened in 1910, 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 Wikidata (1), Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.