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C−History
History · Washington

Washington dates to 1857, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #82 of 119 in Utah. What drives it

Most of Washington was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2008. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1956 on, and the census since 1860.

1857founded
4on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Washington’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Washington began

When was Washington founded?

1857

Washington dates its founding to 1857 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 196 in 18602020 census: 27,993169 years

How historic is Washington?

C−

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1859.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Washington’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Washington is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #82 of 119 in Utah. 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 Washington’s overall grade.
Founding era1857, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.2) · typical UT town 2.8% · U.S. 8.4%D−National Register4 listings, 1.2 per 10,000 residents · typical UT town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 24%
NewerOlder
Utah towns of 2,500+ (119)Ahead of 31%

Utah towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Utah town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Washington’s 1.2 sits near the middle of its state (47% of Utah towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% 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 (±0.2 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1857.

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 Washington’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1880 and 1890, then grew more than tenfold.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Washington’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHistoric American Buildings Survey, Del…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Washington, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,000190019502000483 in 1880Low: 315

Lost a third of its people between 1880 and 1890, then grew more than tenfold.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

On the National Register

4 historic places in Washington

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1971
Washington Cotton Factory
Washington Cotton FactoryRobert D. Covington HouseWashington Relief Society Hall, built 1875Washington School, built 1909
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular2
Pioneer1
Classical1
Greek Revival1
Victorian1
Washington Cotton FactoryBuilding
Robert D. Covington HouseVernacular
Washington Relief Society HallClassical · Built 1875
Washington SchoolBuilt 1909

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

The story

How Washington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Washington.

Read it all →

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints sent a group of 28 families to the area to attempt to grow cotton. The "cotton mission" was led by former Mississippi cotton plantation owner Robert Dockery Covington, along with some of the early settlers from the southeastern United States. The area was nicknamed Utah's Dixie; Dixie was a nickname for the southeastern states.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Washington, 1872–1876

Passages that mention Washington, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Washington the previous November, crossing the country from Vera Cruz to Mazatlan, and who arrived at Monterey in a United States sioop-of-war, and started up the valley in search of the explorers. Gillespie had letters to Fremont from the Secretary of State, and it is supposed they, or other lette…
The golden state1876 · page 90Read the page →
Read the text

Washington the previous November, crossing the country from Vera Cruz to Mazatlan, and who arrived at Monterey in a United States sioop-of-war, and started up the valley in search of the explorers. Gillespie had letters to Fremont from the Secretary of State, and it is supposed they, or other letters to him from friends at Washington, caused him to retrace his steps and return to the valley of the Sacramento. This move had

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In 1870, there were in Washington Territory twentyfive grist-mills, fifty-six saw-mills, one woollen factory;
The golden state1876Read the page →
Read the text

In 1870, there were in Washington Territory twentyfive grist-mills, fifty-six saw-mills, one woollen factory;

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In 1870, there were in Washington Territory twentyfive grist-mills, fifty-six saw-mills, one woollen factory,
The golden state1872 · page 624Read the page →
Read the text

In 1870, there were in Washington Territory twentyfive grist-mills, fifty-six saw-mills, one woollen factory,

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Washington the previous November, crossing the country from Vera Cruz to Mazatlan, and who arrived at Monterey in a United States sloop-of-war, and started up the valley in search of the explorers. Gillespie had letters to Fremont from the Secretary of State, and it is supposed they, or other lette…
The golden state1875Read the page →
Read the text

Washington the previous November, crossing the country from Vera Cruz to Mazatlan, and who arrived at Monterey in a United States sloop-of-war, and started up the valley in search of the explorers. Gillespie had letters to Fremont from the Secretary of State, and it is supposed they, or other letter? -o him from friends at Washington, caused him to retrace his steps and return to the valley of the Sacramento. This move had

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.

Timeline

Washington, 1857 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857
    FoundingWashington is established
  3. 1859Post officeThe Washington post office opens
  4. 1875BuiltWashington Relief Society Hall is built
  5. 20th century
  6. 1909BuiltWashington School is built
  7. 1933In the archiveHistoric American Buildings Survey, Delos H. Smith, Photographer, 1940 GENERAL VIEW. - Wa…
  8. 1940In the archiveRobert D. Covington House
  9. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1977In the archiveAmerica's Highways 1776–1976 - One of the first road signs in America
  11. 21st century
  12. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 27,993
By decade

Washington, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s–1970s4 items
Historic American Buildings Survey, Delos H. Smith, Photographer, 1940 GENERAL VIEW. - Washington Ward Chapel, Washingt…1933Historic American Buildings Survey, Delos H. Smith, P…Historic American Buildings Survey, Delos H. Smith, Photographer, 1940. - Bishop Robert D. Covington House, Washington,…1933Historic American Buildings Survey, Delos H. Smith, P…Robert D. Covington House1940Robert D. Covington HouseAmerica's Highways 1776–1976 - One of the first road signs in America1977America's Highways 1776–1976 - One of the first road …
1980s–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
On the map

Washington on the map, 1956 to 1986

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

Washington on the 1956 USGS mapWashington on the 1986 USGS map1956St George NE sheet · 1:24,000

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

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.

Historic American Buildings Survey, Delos H. Smith, Photographer, 1940 GENERAL VIEW. - Washington Ward Chapel, Washingt…
Retake this viewHistoric American Buildings Survey, Delos H. Smith, Photographer, 1940 GENERAL VIEW. - Washington Ward Chapel, Washingt…, 1933

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

Retake this view · +15
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

St. George14 historic placesCHurricane6 historic placesB−

Questions about Washington’s history

What year was Washington founded?

In 1857, according to Wikidata. Washington’s post office opened in 1859, and the census of 1860 counted 196 people here.

How does Washington rank for history?

Washington is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #82 of 119 in Utah. 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 Washington?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Washington Cotton Factory (listed 1971, the first).

How old are the homes in Washington?

0.0% of Washington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 2.8% for an Utah town; the median home was built in 2008.

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 (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.