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History · Whale Pass

Whale Pass was first counted by the census in 1980

Most of Whale Pass was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2000. Below: maps from 1949 on and the census since 1980.

1980first census
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Whale Pass began

When was Whale Pass founded?

1980

Whale Pass first appears in the census in 1980.

First census: 90 in 19802020 census: 8646 years
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

What stands out about Whale Pass’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Whale Pass are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1980 and 2010, then more than doubled.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Whale Pass’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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People over time

Whale Pass, census by census

010019802000202090 in 1980Low: 31

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1980 and 2010, then more than doubled.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Whale Pass’ Wikipedia page.

The story

How Whale Pass came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Whale Pass.

Read it all →

Whale Pass was originally a logging camp and was first recognized in 1980 as North Whale Pass, before shortening the name to simply Whale Pass. From 1980 to 2017, it was an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP). On January 31, 2017, residents voted to incorporate as a second-class city, receiving just under 75% of 46 ballots cast. This made Whale Pass the state's 116th second-class city.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Whale Pass on the map, 1949 to 1994

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Whale Pass. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Whale Pass on the 1949 USGS mapWhale Pass on the 1953 USGS mapWhale Pass on the 1994 USGS map1949Petersburg A-4 sheet · 1:63,360

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Whale Pass.

Questions about Whale Pass’ history

What year was Whale Pass founded?

The Whale Pass post office opened in 1980, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.