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History · Almira

Almira’s post office opened in 1889, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Almira Hotel. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1910.

1889first post office

1on the National Register

32%homes built before 1940

1old photo or paper

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Almira’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Almira began

When was Almira founded?

1889

The Almira post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Davisine (1885), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 368 in 19102020 census: 318137 years

Founding year: the first Almira post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Almira’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 466 in 1940; 318 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Almira’s homes were built before 1952.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Almira’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewFarm workers with horse-drawn combine h…: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

People over time

Almira, census by census

Peaked at 466 in 1940; 318 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Almira came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Almira.

Read it all →

The area that would become Almira was first settled in the 1880s by Charles C. Davis who purchased land and erected a small store to serve the few settlers living in the area. With the imminent construction of the Central Washington Railroad (later acquired by the Northern Pacific) through the area in 1889, Davis was approached by land developers Odgers and Reed who were looking to start a town on the site. Upon seeing Davis' wife's given name on the deed, the developers suggested christening the town under her name. Davis' farm and post office had previously been called "Davisine".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Almira, 1885 to 1969

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

19th century
1885Post officeThe Davisine post office opens
1889Post officeThe Davisine post office closes
1889Post officeThe Almira post office opens
20th century
1911In the archiveFarm workers with horse-drawn combine harvesting wheat, Almira, Washington, August 1911
1918BuiltAlmira Hotel is built
1940CensusPopulation peaks at 466
1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey

By decade

Almira, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item

Farm workers with horse-drawn combine harvesting wheat, Almira, Washington, August 1911

1911Farm workers with horse-drawn combine harvesting whea…

1920s–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

Today10 recent

2008Almira, Washington

On the map

Almira on the map, 1969 to 1983

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

1969Almira 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 Almira.

Every building

Almira, building by building, 1905–1909

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.

Almira fire insurance map, 1905, sheet 1

1905Sheet 1 of 2

Edition

Sheets

+1 more at the Library of Congress

BrickWoodStone

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

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.

Retake this viewFarm workers with horse-drawn combine harvesting wheat, Almira, Washington, August 1911, 1911

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

Retake this view · +15

On the National Register

1 historic place in Almira

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

place listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

2006

Almira Hotel

Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Commercial Style1

Almira HotelCommercial Style · Built 1918

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Almira

Nobody well known was born in Almira itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →

Dennis OppenheimAmerican artist, sculptor and photographer · b. 1967

David Ray GriffinAmerican philosopher · b. 1939

Lawrence ColburnUS Army soldier · b. 1949

John AbelsonMolecular biologist · b. 1938

Debora IyallAmerican musician, artist, and art instructor · b. 1954

Bernie WhitebearAmerican Indian activist · b. 1937

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Almira’s post office has been open since 1889. Another post office, Davisine, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Davisine

1885–1889

Almira

1889–today

18801950today

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

Questions about Almira’s history

What year was Almira founded?

The Almira post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Almira?

One place: the Almira Hotel (listed 2006).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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 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.

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