Wasilla’s post office opened in 1917, and 6 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #21 of 41 in Alaska. What drives it
Most of Wasilla was built recently: 0.5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1950 on, and the census since 1930.
Founding year: the first Wasilla post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Wasilla’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wasilla is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #21 of 41 in Alaska. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wasilla’s overall grade.
Alaska towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Alaska town has 3.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Wasilla’s 6.2 sits above most of its state (68% of Alaska towns have fewer) while its 6 listings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Wasilla’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Glacial ice sheets covered most of the northern hemisphere during the last glacial period, between 26,500 and 19,000–20,000 years ago, until they disappeared between 10,000 and about 7,000 years ago. Early humans moved through the area and left evidence of their passage. The Matanuska-Susitna valley was eventually settled by the Dena'ina Alaska natives who utilized the fertile lands and fishing opportunities of Cook Inlet. The Dena'ina are one of the eleven sub-groups comprising the indigenous Athabaskan groups extending down Canada's western coast. The area around downtown Wasilla, specifically the creek between Wasilla Lake and Cottonwood Lakes, was known to the Dena'ina as Benteh, which translates as 'among the lakes'. Near the mouth of the Matanuska River, the town of Knik was settled about 1880. In 1900, the Willow Creek Mining District was established to the north and Knik thrived…
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Wasilla post office opened in 1917, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Wasilla rank for history?
Wasilla is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #21 of 41 in Alaska. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Wasilla?
6 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Wasilla Depot (listed 1977, the first).
How old are the homes in Wasilla?
0.5% of Wasilla’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.3% for an Alaska town; the median home was built in 1993.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (8), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1917
1917
1917
1977
2004
