Most of Allyn was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Its Register listing is the Ebenezer Congregational Church. Below: maps from 1938 on.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1890.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Allyn’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Allyn is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns. 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 Allyn’s overall grade.
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 Allyn’s 4.2 sits above most of its state (74% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1853.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 points).
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Allyn’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The community was first settled in 1853. The town was platted and papers to form the town were filed on September 6, 1889, naming the town after Judge Frank Allyn of Tacoma who was influential in the early development of Allyn. By 1890 Allyn had a post office, school, newspaper, sawmill, two saloons, a hotel and wharf.
Lakeland Village, a multi-phase residential development started in the late 1960s with continued current development, includes over 800 homes and makes up a majority of Allyn's population. Lakeland Village is built around a 27-hole golf course and Lake Anderson, a 50-acre private lake providing recreational activities for residents.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Allyn’s history
What year was Allyn founded?
In 1853, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Allyn’s post office opened in 1890.
How does Allyn rank for history?
Allyn is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns. 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 Allyn?
One place: the Ebenezer Congregational Church (listed 2018).
How old are the homes in Allyn?
3% of Allyn’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1998.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
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