A history of Adrian,
since 1826
Postcards, papers and photographs of Adrian from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Adrian was founded on June 18, 1826, by Addison Comstock. The original name for the village was Logan, but was changed soon after to Adrian, perhaps in reference to the Roman emperor Hadrian. The first operating railroad in Michigan was a horse-drawn train running between Adrian and Toledo in 1836. Adrian grew quickly, with the sixth largest population in the state when Michigan was admitted to the Union in 1837, and the third largest population in the state by 1860. Adrian was incorporated as a village on March 28, 1836, then as a city on January 31, 1853.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Adrian’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewErie and Kalamazoo Banknote 1853, 1853: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Adrian
See all 33 →
Adrian, decade by decade
CommonsErie and Kalamazoo Banknote 18531853
CommonsVerso Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad Bank (Adrian Michigan) 1 …1853
CommonsVerso Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad Bank (Adrian Michigan) 1 …1853
CommonsVerso Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad Bank (Adrian Michigan) 5 …1853
CommonsVerso Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad Bank (Adrian Michigan) 5 …1853
CommonsVerso Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad Bank (Michigan) 2 dollars…1853
CommonsVerso Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad Bank (Michigan) 1 dollar …1854
CommonsPlymouth Methodist Protestant Church, Adrian, Michc. 1855
CommonsPlymouth Methodist Protestant Church, Adrian, Michc. 1855
CommonsPlymouth Methodist Protestant Church, Adrian, Michc. 1855
LOCNorth Main St1911
LOCSt. Joseph's Academy1911
LOCSt. Joseph's Academy1911
LOCMain St. looking south1911
LOCThe lobby, St. Joseph's Academy1911
LOCMuseum, St. Joseph's Academy1911
LOCCentral Building, St. Joseph's Academy1911
LOCInterior chapel, St. Joseph's Academy1911
LOCThe lobby, St. Joseph's Academy1911
LOCMaumee St. west of Main St19111990s
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Erie and Kalamazoo Banknote 1853 (1853) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Historic places
National Register · via Wikidata
From Wikimedia Commons (11), the Library of Congress (10) and the National Register (3). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.