Metro Detroit Macomb County City
Fraser
A railroad crossroads with German roots, where an 1875 farmhouse keeps the past
- People (2025 estimate)
- 14,496
- Land area
- 4.1 sq mi · 10.7 km²
- From downtown
- 15.1 miles · 24 km · north
- Incorporated
- 1956
Nothing on our calendar here this week yet.
01 / Why it matters
Why Fraser matters
Fraser is an almost perfect square between 13 Mile and 15 Mile and between Hayes and Kelly, hemmed in by Roseville, Warren, Sterling Heights and Clinton Township. It's a small, quiet city, but its story is classic old Michigan: it grew up where a plank road met a railroad.
German immigrants settled where the 1851 Utica Plank Road crossed the 1858 Grand Trunk line: the first business, a blacksmith shop, opened in 1856, St. John's Lutheran was founded in 1864, and a barrel stave mill started up in 1865. The village incorporated in 1894 with Charles Steffens as president.
Today the Baumgartner House keeps that past alive: an 1875 German-style farmhouse with round-arched windows on Masonic, plus a barn and an old depot. Volunteers from the Fraser Historical Commission run it with open houses and exhibits.
02 / Known for
What Fraser is known for
The Baumgartner House, built in 1875 and probably Fraser's oldest home, with the round-arched Rundbogenstil windows once fashionable in Germany.
The spelling vote: in 1928 residents officially changed the name from Frazer to Fraser.
German roots: the first business was a German blacksmith's shop in 1856, and St. John's Lutheran dates to 1864.
Groesbeck Highway (M-97), built through town in 1928, cuts across the southeast side on its way between Detroit and Mount Clemens.
03 / What’s on
What’s on in Fraser
Nothing on our calendar in Fraser right now. Try the neighbors:
04 / Places
2 places on our site in Fraser
05 / What to do
If you’re in Fraser
Baumgartner House Museum
The 1875 farmhouse museum at 18577 Masonic near Kelly Road, with the Hemme barn, a garden and the old depot on site; the Fraser Historical Commission opens it for open houses and events.
Official site ↗
06 / History
Fraser through the years
- 1856
Fred Eberlein's blacksmith shop becomes Fraser's first business.
- 1858
Detroit lawyer Alexander J. Frazer buys land along the Grand Trunk right-of-way.
- 1875
The Baumgartner family's German-style house is built.
- 1894
The Village of Fraser incorporates, with Charles Steffens as president.
- 1928
Residents vote for the s spelling, and Groesbeck Highway is built.
- 1956
The city charter is adopted on December 26, and Fraser starts life as a city in January 1957.
07 / Born here
1 people in our lexicon were born here
08 / People
Famous names from here
- Pat Hentgen A Fraser High School grad and Toronto Blue Jays pitcher who won the 1996 American League Cy Young Award.
Sources
Population and area are Census Bureau figures (Fraser city).
- 2020 Census, Michigan (PL 94-171)
- Census Bureau population estimates: cities and towns
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraser,_Michigan
- frasercitymi.gov/309/History-of-Fraser
- candgnews.com/news/baumgartner-house-museum-celebrates-150-years-of-history-7564
- frasercitymi.gov/196/Historical-Commission
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Hentgen
- frasercitymi.gov
Change since 2020, per the Census Bureau estimate: −1.6 percent.
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