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History · McBain

McBain’s history is
mostly unwritten

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

1887established
0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

McBain began as a settlement around a sawmill in Riverside Township, founded by John McBain in 1887. A station on the Toledo, Ann Arbor and North Michigan Railway opened on August 27, 1888 and a post office with the name Owens opened on September 10, 1888. The post office was renamed McBain on September 17, 1889. McBain incorporated as a village in 1893 and as a city in 1907.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Be one of the first

Start McBain’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how McBain’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
By decade

McBain, 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.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in McBain is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean McBain has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Cooley School in Cadillac, 9.6 miles away.

McBain and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = McBain. Tap a dot.
Cooley SchoolFrank J. Cobbs HouseShay LocomotiveCobbs and Mitchell BuildingElks Temple BuildingCharles T. Mitchell House

Closest to McBain

Cooley SchoolCadillac · Building9.6miFrank J. Cobbs HouseCadillac · Building9.6miShay LocomotiveCadillac · Structure9.7miCobbs and Mitchell BuildingCadillac · Building9.7miElks Temple BuildingCadillac · Building9.8mi

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. Cooley School’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in McBain?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to McBain’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National 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’ history
📜 Richland📜 Riverside📜 Highland📜 Marion
The coffee’s on

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