Nearby Communities in the 1890s

We largely built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. Over time, we will continue to add communities that we find during our research.

If it applies, we indicate whether a community no longer exists and is now historic.<1>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Pontiac had a population of 6,200 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Pontiac had a population of 58,911 people.

The following communities are listed based on their distance from Pontiac, with the one closest to Pontiac listed first.

Orchard Lake Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Lake Village
- Orchard Lake Village is located in Oakland County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,471 people
- Orchard Lake Village has also been known as:
- Orchard Lake
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orchard Lake Village <2>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Orchard Lake Village
- From Pontiac to Orchard Lake Village
Drayton Plains
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Drayton Plains. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drayton Plains
- Drayton Plains is located in Oakland County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Drayton Plains
- From Pontiac to Drayton Plains
Four Towns
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Four Towns. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Towns
- Four Towns is located in Oakland County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Four Towns
- From Pontiac to Four Towns
Birmingham
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Birmingham is located in Oakland County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,312 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Birmingham <2>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Birmingham
- From Pontiac to Birmingham
Troy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
- Troy is located in Oakland County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 83,589 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Troy <2>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Troy
- From Pontiac to Troy
Waterford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waterford have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford
- Waterford is located in Oakland County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waterford <2>
North Farmington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Farmington
- North Farmington is located in Oakland County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to North Farmington
- From Pontiac to North Farmington
Franklin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Franklin is located in Oakland County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,221 people
- Franklin has also been known as:
- Franklin Village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Franklin <2>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Franklin
- From Pontiac to Franklin
Rochester
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
- Rochester is located in Oakland County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,201 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rochester <2>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Rochester
- From Pontiac to Rochester
Oxbow
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Oxbow. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxbow
- Oxbow is located in Oakland County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Oxbow
- From Pontiac to Oxbow
Big Beaver
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Big Beaver. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Beaver
- Big Beaver is located in Oakland County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Big Beaver
- From Pontiac to Big Beaver
Goodison
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Goodison. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodison
- Goodison is located in Oakland County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Goodison
- From Pontiac to Goodison
Clarkston
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkston
- Clarkston is located in Oakland County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarkston <2>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Clarkston
- From Pontiac to Clarkston
Commerce
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Commerce. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commerce
- Commerce is located in Oakland County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Commerce
- From Pontiac to Commerce
Clawson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clawson
- Clawson is located in Oakland County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,731 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clawson <2>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Clawson
- From Pontiac to Clawson
Walled Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walled Lake
- Walled Lake is located in Oakland County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,080 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walled Lake <2>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Walled Lake
- From Pontiac to Walled Lake
Southfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southfield
- Southfield is located in Oakland County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 72,174 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Southfield <2>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Southfield
- From Pontiac to Southfield
Farmington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmington
- Farmington is located in Oakland County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,395 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Farmington <2>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Farmington
- From Pontiac to Farmington
Royal Oak
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Oak
- Royal Oak is located in Oakland County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 58,963 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Royal Oak <2>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Royal Oak
- From Pontiac to Royal Oak
Shelby ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Shelby. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby
- Shelby is located in Macomb County
- Shelby has also been known as:
- Shelby Crossing
- Shelby Station
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Shelby
- From Pontiac to Shelby
Mount Vernon ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Mount Vernon is located in Macomb County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Mount Vernon
- From Pontiac to Mount Vernon
Oxford
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
- Oxford is located in Oakland County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,541 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oxford <2>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Oxford
- From Pontiac to Oxford
Utica
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utica
- Utica is located in Macomb County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,062 people
- Former names for Utica:
- Hog Hollow
- McDougalville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Utica <2>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Utica
- From Pontiac to Utica
Disco ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Disco
- Disco is located in Macomb County
- Former name for Disco:
- Whiskey Center
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Disco
- From Pontiac to Disco
White Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for White Lake. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Lake
- White Lake is located in Oakland County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for White Lake <2>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to White Lake
- From Pontiac to White Lake

Off-the-Road Links ...

The official website for Pontiac: www.pontiac.mi.us/

The official website for Oakland County: www.co.oakland.mi.us/

The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>	We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Pontiac, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>	While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>	An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>	The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.