A history of Alpena,
since 1840
Postcards, papers and photographs of Alpena from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗The Alpena area is home to the Ojibwe, Ottawa, and Potawatomi people. These people groups inhabit the area surrounding the Great Lakes, including Michigan. The Thunder Bay Band of Chippewa and Ottawa merged with the Mackinac Bands of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians in the mid-1800s under Chief Way-ge-maw-waw-be.
Alpena County was originally set off from Michilimackinac County as Anamickee County founded in 1840, which in 1843 was changed to Alpena, a pseudo-Native American word — a neologism coined by Henry Schoolcraft, meaning something like "a good partridge country." This was part of a much larger effort to rename a great many of the Michigan counties at the time.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Alpena’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
2 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewMaltz Block Postcard 1895, 1895: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Alpena
See all 30 →
Alpena, decade by decade
CommonsAlpena flyer1912
CommonsLiberty Bonds - Public Gatherings - War Activities at Alpen…1917
CommonsLiberty Bonds - Public Gatherings - War Activities at Alpen…1917
CommonsLiberty Bonds - Public Gatherings - War Activities at Alpen…1917![Recruiting and Draft Service - Registration [165-WW-480C-13]](https://images.towntapestry.org/story/8059/01d50c92e4e633f0adf2-s.jpg)
CommonsRecruiting and Draft Service - Registration [165-WW-480C-13]1917
1990s
CommonsFreighter offloading salt in2014
CommonsFreighter in2014
CommonsFire when ready2014
CommonsDaniel Carter Family2014
CommonsNOAA GLERL 5501 in2013
CommonsVisiting the Alpena Biorefinery2012
CommonsLaurentian in2012
CommonsRed-spotted Purple butterfly2011
CommonsCardboard boat regatta 20112011
DocumentGreetings from Alpena, Michigan - Large Letter Postcard2011
CommonsRV 5501 and RV 50022010
CommonsRV 5002 and RV 55012010
CommonsNOS vessel docked in2009
CommonsGreat Lakes Maritime Heritage Trail - first bend2009
CommonsGreat Lakes Maritime Heritage Trail - entrance2009
CommonsPost0278 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library2007
CommonsMIMap-doton-Alpena2005
CommonsPennsylvania Air National Guard (PAANG) Technical Sergeant …20046 historic places in Alpena
Alpena has 6 listings on the National Register, and they protect 124 historic buildings, because Alpena Central Historic District alone counts 119.
Where they are
When they were listed
Listed 2003Fishing Tug Katherine VListed 1983Alpena County CourthouseListed 2015IOOF Centennial BuildingListed 2020Bingham SchoolListed 2023Herman and Hattie (Ely) Besser HouseListed 2025Alpena Central Historic DistrictThen & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Maltz Block Postcard 1895 (1895) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (25) and the National Register (5). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.