Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1870.
The Stanwood post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Stanwood’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Stanwood. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Stanwood.
From Wikipedia’s history of Stanwood.
Stanwood was platted in 1868. The first house was built in Stanwood in 1869. The city was named for H. P. Stanwood, a railroad official.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Stanwood, cut from the printed page as they were published.
was graded and made in readiness for the ties and iron. In 1872, the people of Tipton interests, determined to have a railroad, made an arrangement with the management of the North- Western Railway Company by which that company undert(K)k to complete and operate a road between Stanwood and Tipton. The parties having control of the old graded line, agreed to give the grade to the North- Western Company, and the Tipton people agreed to give the necessary depot grounds in Tipton, and ^o guaranteed the right of way to Stanwood.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Between 254 and 705 people in every census since 1870.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Stanwood’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Stanwood itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Stanwood post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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