The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Decatur Township and the Village of Decatur are named after Stephen Decatur Jr., celebrated as a hero of the War of 1812.
Decatur was founded in 1847 and incorporated as a village in 1861.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Start Decatur’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Decatur’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Decatur
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By decade
Decatur, decade by decade
Before
2000
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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National Register of Historic Places
Nothing in Decatur is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Decatur has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Grand Rapids, Grand Haven and Muskegon Railway Depot in Volinia, 4.8 miles away.
Decatur and the nearest listed places
Dashed line = Decatur. Tap a dot.
How a place gets listed
1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Grand Rapids, Grand Haven and Muskegon Railway Depot’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Decatur?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Decatur’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old placeNational Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons
Then & now
When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.
Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.