The community that became Oldtown developed as an extension of Newport, Washington, during the rapid growth of the Pend Oreille River valley in the late nineteenth century. Following the arrival of the Great Northern Railway in the region during the 1890s, commerce and settlement expanded on both sides of the Idaho–Washington border. Lumber mills, river transportation, and railroad activity became central to the local economy, with timber harvested from surrounding forests shipped throughout the Inland Northwest.
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 (1), 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.
2004
