Altoona’s post office opened in 1901, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
Most of Altoona was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2010. Its Register listing is the Columbia River Gillnet Boat.
How Altoona began
When was Altoona founded?
The Altoona post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Brookfield (1874) and Dahlia (1910), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
1 historic place in Altoona
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
All 1 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Lost post offices and old corners
Altoona had its own post office from 1901 to 1957. 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).
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Altoona’s history
What year was Altoona founded?
The Altoona post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What is on the National Register in Altoona?
One place: the Columbia River Gillnet Boat (listed 1978).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.