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History · Collins

Collins’s history is
mostly unwritten

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

0old images & papers
4recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Some say the community was named after a railroad official named Collins, while others believe the place is named after Collinsville, Connecticut.

Alternatively, some say Collins was named after Thomas Collins of Valdosta, Georgia who settled in the area after the American Civil War.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Be one of the first

Start Collins’s collection

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

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

Famous people close to Collins

See all 21 →
Thomas EdisonThomas EdisonMilan · 7 miGeorge KennanGeorge KennanNorwalk · 5 miPaul BrownPaul BrownNorwalk · 5 miDorothy GrangerDorothy GrangerNew London · 12 miRobin MeadeRobin MeadeNew London · 12 miStephen M. YoungStephen M. YoungNorwalk · 5 mi
By decade

Collins, 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
Today4 photos
Western Reserve High SchoolCommonsWestern Reserve High School2016Townsend School atCommonsTownsend School at2016Collins United Methodist ChurchCommonsCollins United Methodist Church2016OHMap-doton-CollinsCommonsOHMap-doton-Collins2007
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Collins is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Collins has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Florence Corners School in Florence, 5.8 miles away.

Collins and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Collins. Tap a dot.
Florence Corners SchoolStone House, TheHuron County Children's HomeDunton HouseNorwalk TheatreMitchell Historic District

Closest to Collins

Florence Corners SchoolFlorence · Building5.8miStone House, TheBerlin · Building5.8miHuron County Children's HomeNorwalk · Building6.9miDunton HouseNorwalk · Building7miNorwalk TheatreNorwalk · Building7mi

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. Florence Corners School’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Collins?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Collins’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
📜 Townsend📜 Wakeman📜 Hartland📜 Berlin Heights

From Wikimedia Commons (4). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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