–Not graded

History · Lapeer

Lapeer’s post office opened in 1849, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Stage Coach Inn. Below: maps from 1903 on and the census since 1850.

1849first post office

1on the National Register

32%homes built before 1940

1famous people

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Quick answers

How Lapeer began

When was Lapeer founded?

1849

The Lapeer post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Hunts Corners (1856), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 750 in 18502020 census: 795177 years

Founding year: the first Lapeer post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Lapeer’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 Lapeer are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1860 and 1930, then more than doubled.On the map since 19033 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1978. Watch Lapeer change.Deep rootsA post office since 1849: 177 years of Lapeer.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lapeer’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lapeer’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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People over time

Lapeer, census by census

Lost half of its people between 1860 and 1930, then more than doubled.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

On the map

Lapeer on the map, 1903 to 1978

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

1903Harford 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 Lapeer.

The story

How Lapeer came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lapeer.

Read it all →

The first outside settler arrived around 1799. His name was Primus Grant, a Black man from Guiana. He is buried on a bluff overlooking a stream known as "Big Brook". Unfortunately, little is known of him, his family, how he arrived in the area, or his history.

Lapeer is a dry town, meaning the consumption and possession of alcohol within the boundaries of the community is prohibited.

The Stage Coach Inn was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Lapeer in 1859

Passages that mention Lapeer, cut from the printed page as they were published.

In 1850 the population of Lapeer was 822. 1855 " " " 750. HARFORD was organized from the west part of Virgil, May 2, 1845. The first settlement in this town was made in 1803. Dorastus De Wolf, Thomas Nichols, John Green, and Cornelius Worden, were the pioneers who first selected locations and becam… — **Pioneer history**1859 · page 258Read the page →
Read the text
In 1850 the population of Lapeer was 822. 1855 " " " 750. HARFORD was organized from the west part of Virgil, May 2, 1845. The first settlement in this town was made in 1803. Dorastus De Wolf, Thomas Nichols, John Green, and Cornelius Worden, were the pioneers who first selected locations and became permanent settlers of the town of Harford. De Wolf settled in the south
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

There were sixteen soldiers of the Revolutionary war who settled in Lapeer, and all but one died there. A number of the soldiers of the last war with Great Britain, resided in Lapeer, and drew land-warrants, or pensions, or both. In 1813,, a volunteer company was organized, of which Simeon West was… — **Pioneer history**1859 · page 258Read the page →
Read the text
There were sixteen soldiers of the Revolutionary war who settled in Lapeer, and all but one died there. A number of the soldiers of the last war with Great Britain, resided in Lapeer, and drew land-warrants, or pensions, or both. In 1813,, a volunteer company was organized, of which Simeon West was captain, John S.
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

Lapeer, 1849 to 1905

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

19th century
1849Post officeThe Lapeer post office opens
1856Post officeThe Hunts Corners post office opens
1860CensusPopulation peaks at 803
1879Born hereArthur P. Robinson is born here
1884Post officeThe Lapeer post office closes
20th century
1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1905Post officeThe Hunts Corners post office closes

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.

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On the National Register

1 historic place in Lapeer

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

place listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

2009

Stage Coach Inn

Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1

Stage Coach InnGreek Revival

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Lapeer had its own post office from 1849 to 1884. Another post office, Hunts Corners, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lapeer

1849–1884

Hunts Corners

1856–1905

18401930today

Hamlets and corners on the map

Hunts Corners

Gone or out of use

Lapeer Flyer Airportairport

3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lapeer

Hunts CornersParker StreetQuail Hill

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Marathon2 historic placesA HarfordIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town VirgilIts storyB⁻

Questions about Lapeer’s history

What year was Lapeer founded?

The Lapeer post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Lapeer?

One place: the Stage Coach Inn (listed 2009).

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 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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