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History · Grand Rapids

Grand Rapids’ post office opened in 1868, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 23 old photos and papers, maps from 1909 on, and the census since 1880.

1868first post office
4on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
23old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Grand Rapids’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Grand Rapids began

When was Grand Rapids founded?

1868

The Grand Rapids post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Gilead (1837), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 332 in 18802020 census: 925158 years
Founding year: the first Grand Rapids post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Grand Rapids’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos23 old photos, postcards and papers, 1871–1904.On the map since 19095 editions of the USGS map, 1909 to 1971. Watch Grand Rapids change.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · By decade

Grand Rapids, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1890s6 items
"Grand Rapids of the Maumee", Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximately 1871) - DPLA - 167b263e08d85453adeeeadc0b672db81871"Grand Rapids of the Maumee", Grand Rapids, Ohio (app…Bridge, Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximately 1890) - DPLA - 351240facf4230f0cb9dafc103822edb1890Bridge, Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximately 1890) - DPL…John Fisher Home, Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximately 1890) - DPLA - 5517c5bf10cab57ebca90cef6f7e3ffa1890John Fisher Home, Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximately 1…Fire, Grand Rapids, Ohio [approximately 1898]1898Fire, Grand Rapids, Ohio [approximately 1898]Fire, Grand Rapids, Ohio [approximately 1898]1898Fire, Grand Rapids, Ohio [approximately 1898]Miami and Erie Canal, Grand Rapids, Ohio, 1898 - DPLA - a7d29d78d2b01a2a8e6397f670504d3b1898Miami and Erie Canal, Grand Rapids, Ohio, 1898 - DPLA…
1900s17 items
Bridge, Grand Rapids, Ohio, 1900 - DPLA - 67f989f60134e4b4a9c39ed0335e23ac1900Bridge, Grand Rapids, Ohio, 1900 - DPLA - 67f989f6013…Bridge, Grand Rapids, Ohio, 1900 - DPLA - f41dd3149a3cbb29a990d58580dbeea01900Bridge, Grand Rapids, Ohio, 1900 - DPLA - f41dd3149a3…Canal boats lined up near the shoreline, Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximately 1900) - DPLA - a728a8737685b578d16b8826813dd…1900Canal boats lined up near the shoreline, Grand Rapids…Miami and Erie Canal, Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximately 1900) - DPLA - b262b32f8d10fcb2269c28eb1be7f41d1900Miami and Erie Canal, Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximate…Miami and Erie Canal, Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximately 1900) - DPLA - f5fe3b68ac0501a10f36d7e40dc1a6241900Miami and Erie Canal, Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximate…Miami and Erie Canal, Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximately 1900) - DPLA - ffeaccb918808f60686ac53750961baa1900Miami and Erie Canal, Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximate…Stevens Blacksmith Shop, Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximately 1900) - DPLA - aa32d418c7bcecb3896536232a5e6c861900Stevens Blacksmith Shop, Grand Rapids, Ohio (approxim…School, Grand Rapids, Ohio, 1903 - DPLA - eb374fb6ab49e8493192e929fb02c7d41903School, Grand Rapids, Ohio, 1903 - DPLA - eb374fb6ab4…Flood, Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximately 1904) - DPLA - 11972bcbb7b4cbc7632fc376fab7ed161904Flood, Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximately 1904) - DPLA…Flood, Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximately 1904) - DPLA - 594433b0c5734f2dfaf12e9d5b637cb01904Flood, Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximately 1904) - DPLA…Flood, Grand Rapids, Ohio [approximately 1904]1904Flood, Grand Rapids, Ohio [approximately 1904]Flood, Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximately 1904) - DPLA - 6ec01d5349b330f9f8c6ded10cb89a621904Flood, Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximately 1904) - DPLA…Flood, Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximately 1904) - DPLA - 93ebdc45c2c72744032b650fb4c93e751904Flood, Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximately 1904) - DPLA…Flood, Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximately 1904) - DPLA - 987e40e30cc54aa5b97f40fe755f4aa81904Flood, Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximately 1904) - DPLA…New York Central Railroad Bridge, Grand Rapids, Ohio, 1904 - DPLA - 0aefdf8016ee78035ccda29b91702bad1904New York Central Railroad Bridge, Grand Rapids, Ohio,…Pilliod's Mills, Grand Rapids, Ohio, 1904 - DPLA - 4d20975c019e3c4161d86f7b4ab721641904Pilliod's Mills, Grand Rapids, Ohio, 1904 - DPLA - 4d…Pilliod's Mills, Grand Rapids, Ohio, 1904 - DPLA - 9765798f8449ef549238d17361c27db71904Pilliod's Mills, Grand Rapids, Ohio, 1904 - DPLA - 97…
1910s–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
On the map

Grand Rapids on the map, 1909 to 1971

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

Grand Rapids on the 1909 USGS mapGrand Rapids on the 1935 USGS mapGrand Rapids on the 1940 USGS mapGrand Rapids on the 1952 USGS mapGrand Rapids on the 1971 USGS map1909Mc Clure 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 Grand Rapids.

On the National Register

4 historic places in Grand Rapids

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Town Hall
Town HallThurston Building, built 1897Benjamin F. Kerr HouseR. A. Housley House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Richardsonian Romanesque1
Queen Anne1
Italianate1
Town HallBuilding
Thurston BuildingRichardsonian Romanesque · Built 1897
Benjamin F. Kerr HouseQueen Anne
R. A. Housley HouseItalianate

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

The story

How Grand Rapids came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Grand Rapids.

Read it all →

Grand Rapids was originally called Gilead, and under the latter name was platted in 1833. To meet the challenges of keeping enough water in its canals in the 1840s, the state of Ohio built a large dam across the Maumee River at Gilead in 1845. Because the dam replaced a smaller dam that had been built to provide power to a mill and thereby restricted the water power provided to the mill, the outraged citizens of Gilead destroyed the dam. Following the destruction of the dam, a side cut canal was built that connected Gilead with the main canal. This caused an economic boom in Gilead and the village was incorporated as Grand Rapids in 1855.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Grand Rapids, 1837 to 1909

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837Post officeThe Gilead post office opens
  3. 1863Born hereGrace MacGowan Cooke is born here
  4. 1868Post officeThe Gilead post office closes
  5. 1868Post officeThe Grand Rapids post office opens
  6. 1871In the archive"Grand Rapids of the Maumee", Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximately 1871) - DPLA - 167b263e08…
  7. 1890In the archiveBridge, Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximately 1890) - DPLA - 351240facf4230f0cb9dafc103822edb
  8. 1897BuiltThurston Building is built
  9. 20th century
  10. 1900In the archiveBridge, Grand Rapids, Ohio, 1900 - DPLA - 67f989f60134e4b4a9c39ed0335e23ac
  11. 1909On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.

"Grand Rapids of the Maumee", Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximately 1871) - DPLA - 167b263e08d85453adeeeadc0b672db8
Retake this view"Grand Rapids of the Maumee", Grand Rapids, Ohio (approximately 1871) - DPLA - 167b263e08d85453adeeeadc0b672db8, 1871

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Grand Rapids, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,002

Between 332 and 1,002 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Grand Rapids’s post office has been open since 1868. Another post office, Gilead, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gilead
1837–1868
Grand Rapids
1868–today
18301930today
1cemetery inside Grand Rapids
Howard

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

Help out

Finish Grand Rapids’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view"Grand Rapids of the Maumee", Grand Rap…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Grand Rapids Township5 historic placesA−Providence Township2 historic placesA−

Questions about Grand Rapids’ history

What year was Grand Rapids founded?

The Grand Rapids post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Grand Rapids?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Town Hall (listed 1975, the first).

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 (23), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.