History · Clawson

Clawson’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Clawson. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

1940established
0old images & papers
6recent photos

The story

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This area was occupied by the historic Potowatomi people, who were among the indigenous peoples in the Detroit territory. They traded furs for goods for years with the French Canadians and English colonists.

The city's name is a misspelling of the surname of John C. Lawson, an early European-American settler. It was founded by European Americans in 1829 and was originally known as Pumachug and The Corners. The name was inspired by the sound made by the Cider Mill and Saw Mill on each corner of the main intersection. The sound was described as "pum-a-chug, pum-a-chug." The city was incorporated as Clawson in 1920 as a village; in 1940 it was incorporated as a city.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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By decade

Clawson, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
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Then & now

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Stories next door

nearby towns’ history

From Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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Clawson

Michigan · MI
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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01