Historic Photos of Mason, Michigan: 1890s – 1950s

This post is not meant to be a history of Mason, but rather a photo gallery of what the town looked over 100 years ago.

But here are a few brief facts about Mason anyway:

1) The town was named after Michigan's first governor, Stevens T. Mason.

2) In 1836 Charles Noble founded “Mason Center” in central Michigan, with the intention of making it the state capitol.

3) By 1847, the word “Center” had been dropped and Lansing Township beat out Mason for the state's capitol location.

4) Incorporated as a village, 1865.

5) When Mason acquired a post office by the early 1870s, the town was referred to as “Mason P.O.”

6) Became a city, 1875.

7) Mason was made into the county seat, making Michigan the only state where the capitol city is not the county seat.

8) In the late 1800s Lansing tried to grab that title away from Mason but failed.

With that all-too-brief history lesson outta the way, now enjoy some old vintage photos of Mason, going back as far as the 1890s...can you identify some of these and where some of the old buildings were located? Have fun!

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