A history of Pentwater,
then and now
Postcards, papers and photographs of Pentwater from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story so far
from the U.S. CensusBetween the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 857 to 890 (+4%). Half of its homes were built before 1970.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Pentwater yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Pentwater’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 viewPere Marquette Depot, 1910: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Pentwater
See all 2 →Pentwater, decade by decade
1960s
1990s
Nothing in Pentwater is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Pentwater has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Navigation Structures at Pentwater Harbor in Pentwater, 0.5 miles away.
Pentwater and the nearest listed places
How a place gets listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Pere Marquette Depot (1910) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories 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.