A history of Cadillac,
since 1877
Postcards, papers and photographs of Cadillac from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗European explorers and fur traders visited this area from the 18th century, most of them initially French and French-Canadians who traded with regional Native Americans. More permanent communities were not established until the late 19th century. Initial settlements developed from logging camps and the logging industry.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Cadillac’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 viewCadillac, Michigan (circa 1880s), 1880s: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Cadillac
See all 14 →
Cadillac, decade by decade
1990s
9 historic places in Cadillac
9 places in Cadillac are on the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Where they are
Architectural styles
When they were listed
Listed 1981Shay Locomotive
Listed 1986Old Cadillac City Hall
Listed 1986Charles T. Mitchell House
Listed 1988Frank J. Cobbs House
Listed 1988Elks Temple Building
Listed 1994Masonic Temple Building
Listed 2007Cadillac Public Library
Listed 2010Cobbs and Mitchell BuildingListed 2026Cooley SchoolThen & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Cadillac, Michigan (circa 1880s) (1880s) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (4), the Library of Congress (1) and the National Register (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.