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CHistory
History · Post Falls

Post Falls dates to 1871, and 5 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 27% of U.S. towns · #42 of 59 in Idaho. What drives it

Most of Post Falls was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2005. Below: 24 old photos and papers, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1900.

1871founded
5on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
24old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Post Falls’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Post Falls began

When was Post Falls founded?

1871

Post Falls dates its founding to 1871 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 287 in 19002020 census: 38,485155 years

How historic is Post Falls?

C

More historic than 27% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1890.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Post Falls’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Post Falls is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #42 of 59 in Idaho. 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 Post Falls’ overall grade.
Founding era1871, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.6% of homes (±1.0) · typical ID town 8.5% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register5 listings, 1.2 per 10,000 residents · typical ID town 8.4 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 27%
NewerOlder
Idaho towns of 2,500+ (59)Ahead of 29%

Idaho towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Idaho town has 8.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Post Falls’ 1.2 sits below most of its state (34% of Idaho towns have fewer) while its 5 listings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1871.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Post Falls’ past

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

A town in old photos24 old photos, postcards and papers, 1908–1968.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1890 to 1928, drew every building in Post Falls.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · By decade

Post Falls, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Frederick Post1908Frederick Post
1910s–1940snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
1950s–1960s23 items
(IDAHO-A-0226) Post Falls Dam (North Channel)1950(IDAHO-A-0226) Post Falls Dam (North Channel)CLOSE-UP OF THE CURRENT TRASH RAKE-LIFTING MECHANISM (CALLED 'JAWS' BY THE PRESENT OPERATORS), LOOKING WEST. THIS EQUIP…1968CLOSE-UP OF THE CURRENT TRASH RAKE-LIFTING MECHANISM …CLOSE-UP VIEW OF THE TAINTER GATES AND SPILLWAY OF THE NORTH CHANNEL DAM, LOOKING SOUTH. - Washington Water Power Compa…1968CLOSE-UP VIEW OF THE TAINTER GATES AND SPILLWAY OF TH…CLOSE-UP VIEW OF THE TRASH RAKES, THEIR LIFTING MECHANISM (RIGHT FOREGROUND), AND CLUTCHES THAT OPEN AND CLOSE THE SIX …1968CLOSE-UP VIEW OF THE TRASH RAKES, THEIR LIFTING MECHA…CONTEXTUAL VIEW OF THE IRRIGATION BRIDGE LOOKING SOUTHEASTERLY. - Washington Water Power Company Post Falls Power Plant…1968CONTEXTUAL VIEW OF THE IRRIGATION BRIDGE LOOKING SOUT…CONTEXTUAL VIEW OF THE IRRIGATION CANAL BRIDGE, LOOKING NORTHWESTERLY. - Washington Water Power Company Post Falls Powe…1968CONTEXTUAL VIEW OF THE IRRIGATION CANAL BRIDGE, LOOKI…CONTEXTUAL VIEW OF THE NORTH CHANNEL DAM FROM PUBLICLY RESTRICTED PROPERTY OF THE RECENTLY CLOSED LOUISIANA PACIFIC LUM…1968CONTEXTUAL VIEW OF THE NORTH CHANNEL DAM FROM PUBLICL…CONTEXTUAL VIEW OF THE POST FALLS POWERHOUSE LOOKING DOWNSTREAM. POWER PLANT AND INTAKE GATES ARE IN THE LEFT FOREGROUN…1968CONTEXTUAL VIEW OF THE POST FALLS POWERHOUSE LOOKING …CONTEXTUAL VIEW OF THE POST FALLS POWERHOUSE, WITH THE MODERN SUBSTATION AND OLD SWITCHING BUILDING IN THE LEFT FOREGRO…1968CONTEXTUAL VIEW OF THE POST FALLS POWERHOUSE, WITH TH…CONTEXTUAL VIEW, LOOKING DOWNSTREAM (NORTHERLY) OF THE CONCRETE ARCH ('ONE-WAY BRIDGE') THAT PROVIDES PRIVATE (WWP) ACC…1968CONTEXTUAL VIEW, LOOKING DOWNSTREAM (NORTHERLY) OF TH…CREST OF THE SOUTH CHANNEL DAM, SHOWING BLOCK HOUSE (NOT ORIGINAL) COVERING THE ELECTRICALLY POWERED GATE-LIFTING MECHA…1968CREST OF THE SOUTH CHANNEL DAM, SHOWING BLOCK HOUSE (…DOWNSTREAM VIEW OF THE SOUTH CHANNEL DAM, LOOKING WEST. - Washington Water Power Company Post Falls Power Plant, South …1968DOWNSTREAM VIEW OF THE SOUTH CHANNEL DAM, LOOKING WES…LEFT FACADE VIEW OF THE OLD SWITCHING BUILDING, WITH THE POWERHOUSE AND DAM IN LEFT BACKGROUND, LOOKING NORTHWEST. - Wa…1968LEFT FACADE VIEW OF THE OLD SWITCHING BUILDING, WITH …LONGITUDINAL VIEW OF THE CONCRETE ARCH (ONE-WAY BRIDGE), LOOKING NORTHEAST. - Washington Water Power Company Post Falls…1968LONGITUDINAL VIEW OF THE CONCRETE ARCH (ONE-WAY BRIDG…LONGITUDINAL VIEW OF THE SIX TURBINE-GENERATOR UNITS (NO.'S 1-5 ARE ORIGINAL). TURBINE-GENERATOR NO.1 IS IN THE FOREGRO…1968LONGITUDINAL VIEW OF THE SIX TURBINE-GENERATOR UNITS …OBLIQUE VIEW OF THE PRESENT CONTROL ROOM (ORIGINALLY THE TRANSFORMER ROOM). - Washington Water Power Company Post Falls…1968OBLIQUE VIEW OF THE PRESENT CONTROL ROOM (ORIGINALLY …PORTAL VIEW OF THE CONCRETE ARCH (ONE-WAY BRIDGE) THAT EXITS THE MIDDLE CHANNEL ISLAND AND POST FALLS POWER PLANT, LOOK…1968PORTAL VIEW OF THE CONCRETE ARCH (ONE-WAY BRIDGE) THA…PORTAL VIEW OF THE CONCRETE ARCH (ONE-WAY BRIDGE) THAT PROVIDES ACCESS TO THE MIDDLE CHANNEL DAM AND POWER PLANT, LOOKI…1968PORTAL VIEW OF THE CONCRETE ARCH (ONE-WAY BRIDGE) THA…TAINTER GATES (LEFT FOREGROUND) AND ROLLING SECTOR GATE AND SPILLWAY (BACKGROUND) OF THE NORTH CHANNEL DAM, LOOKING SOU…1968TAINTER GATES (LEFT FOREGROUND) AND ROLLING SECTOR GA…TURBINE-GENERATOR UNIT NO.4- VIEW SHOWS PENSTOCK ENTERING THE TURBINE (BACKGROUND), ORIGINAL LOMBARD GOVERNOR (RIGHT BA…1968TURBINE-GENERATOR UNIT NO.4- VIEW SHOWS PENSTOCK ENTE…UPSTREAM VIEW OF THE SOUTH CHANNEL DAM, LOOKING EAST. - Washington Water Power Company Post Falls Power Plant, South Ch…1968UPSTREAM VIEW OF THE SOUTH CHANNEL DAM, LOOKING EAST.…UPSTREAM VIEW OF THE TRASH RAKES, GATES AND GATE-LIFTING MECHANISMS FOR THE POST FALLS DAM AND POWERHOUSE, LOOKING NORT…1968UPSTREAM VIEW OF THE TRASH RAKES, GATES AND GATE-LIFT…VIEW OF THE MODERN SUBSTATION (FOREGROUND), WITH THE OLD SWITCHING BUILDING IN THE BACKGROUND, LOOKING SOUTHWEST. - Was…1968VIEW OF THE MODERN SUBSTATION (FOREGROUND), WITH THE …
1970s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Every building

Post Falls, building by building, 1890–1928

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Post Falls fire insurance map, 1890, sheet 11890Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

5 historic places in Post Falls

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Post Falls Community United Presbyterian Church
Post Falls Community United Presbyterian ChurchSamuel and Ann Young HouseTreaty RockWashington Water Power BridgesSpokane Valley Land and Water Company Canal
BuildingsSitesStructures

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne2
Gothic Revival1
Late Victorian1
Concrete Arch1
Concrete Girder1
Post Falls Community United Presbyterian ChurchGothic Revival
Samuel and Ann Young HouseLate Victorian
All 5 listings
Treaty RockSite · listed 1992Washington Water Power BridgesStructure · listed 1996Spokane Valley Land and Water Company CanalStructure · listed 2003

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Post Falls came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Post Falls.

Read it all →

Post Falls is named after Frederick Post, a German immigrant who constructed a lumber mill along the Spokane River in 1871 on land he purchased from Andrew Seltice, Chief of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe. The purchase of the land is preserved in a pictograph on a granite cliff in Treaty Rock Park.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Post Falls, 1871 to 2000

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871
    FoundingPost Falls is established
  3. 1890Post officeThe Post Falls post office opens
  4. 1896Born hereEmery T. Knudson is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1908In the archiveFrederick Post
  7. 1912Born hereEd Justice is born here
  8. 1950In the archive(IDAHO-A-0226) Post Falls Dam (North Channel)
  9. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1968In the archiveCLOSE-UP OF THE CURRENT TRASH RAKE-LIFTING MECHANISM (CALLED 'JAWS' BY THE PRESENT OPERAT…
  11. 1977Born hereIan Waltz is born here
  12. 21st century
  13. 2000Born hereRidge Lovett is born here
On the map

Post Falls on the map, 1957 to 1981

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

Post Falls on the 1957 USGS mapPost Falls on the 1975 USGS mapPost Falls on the 1981 USGS map1957Coeur DAlene sheet · 1:62,500

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

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Frederick Post
Retake this viewFrederick Post, 1908

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Post Falls’ page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Post Falls, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,000190019201940196019802000202038,485

Grew from 287 people in 1900 to 38,485 in 2020, more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Post Falls

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
I
Ian WaltzAmerican discus thrower · b. 1977
E
Ed JusticeAmerican football player · b. 1912
R
Ridge LovettAmerican wrestler · b. 2000
E
Emery T. KnudsonAmerican judge · b. 1896
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Post Falls’s post office has been open since 1890.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Grand JunctionMcGuire
Gone or out of use
Otterson Ranch Airportairport
1cemetery inside Post Falls
Evergreen

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Post Falls’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFrederick Post: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

State LineIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRathdrum3 historic placesC

Questions about Post Falls’ history

What year was Post Falls founded?

In 1871, according to Wikidata. Post Falls’ post office opened in 1890, and the census of 1900 counted 287 people here.

How does Post Falls rank for history?

Post Falls is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #42 of 59 in Idaho. 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 Post Falls?

5 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Post Falls Community United Presbyterian Church (listed 1984, the first), 1 site, and 2 structures.

How old are the homes in Post Falls?

2% of Post Falls’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 8.5% for an Idaho town; the median home was built in 2005.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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).

From Wikimedia Commons (24), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.