Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 26% of U.S. towns · #151 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Ahtanum was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1958 on and the census since 2000.
The Ahtanum post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Attanum (1870) and Wiley (1917), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
More historic than 26% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ahtanum is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #151 of 285 in Washington. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
Few Washington towns list much on the Register (a typical Washington town has 0.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Ahtanum’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (27% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (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 →
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 Ahtanum’s history is told.
Ahtanum had its own post office from 1890 to 1902. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ahtanum yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Ahtanum () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yakima County, Washington. The population was 4,046 at the time of the 2020 census.
Its first post office opened in 1890. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,601 to 4,046 (+12%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ahtanum. 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 Ahtanum.
Between 3,601 and 4,181 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Ahtanum’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Ahtanum itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Ahtanum post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Ahtanum is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #151 of 285 in Washington. 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.
8% of Ahtanum’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1977.
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).
From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) 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.
