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Eagle Island at Bainbridge Ferry Aerial (50802490188)Photo: formulanone · CC BY-SA 2.0
A−History
History · Bainbridge Island

Bainbridge Island dates to 1841, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns · #16 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

Most of Bainbridge Island was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 38 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1937 on, and the census since 1950.

1841founded
3on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
8famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bainbridge Island’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bainbridge Island began

When was Bainbridge Island founded?

1841

Bainbridge Island dates its founding to 1841 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1950.

First census: 637 in 19502020 census: 24,825185 years

How historic is Bainbridge Island?

A−

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1858.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Bainbridge Island’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bainbridge Island is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #16 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bainbridge Island’s overall grade.
Founding era1841, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19406.8% of homes (±1.7) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register3 listings, 40 historic buildings, 16.2 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 77%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 95%

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 Bainbridge Island’s 16.2 sits above most of its state (89% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 40 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1841.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share (±1.7 points) is firm at this size.

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 Bainbridge Island’s past

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

Lost villages11 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Bainbridge Island, and 28 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Fort Ward Historic District takes in 38 historic buildings.Deep rootsEstablished in 1841: 185 years of Bainbridge Island.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

11 other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Port Madison
1858–1943
Port Blakely
1890–1958
Crystal Springs
1891–1919
Rollingbay
1892–today
Seabold
1892–1955
Manzaneta
1900–1903
Fort Ward
1903–1920
Manzanita
1903–1927
Winslow
1903–1959
Eagle Harbor
1907–1908
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Agate PointBainbridgeBainbridge GrangeBattle PointCreosoteCrystal SpringsEagledaleFerncliffFletcher BayFort WardHawleyIslander Mobile Home ParkLynwood CenterMadrona HeightsManitou BeachManzanitaPoint WhitePort BlakelyPort MadisonRollingbaySeaboldSouth BeachToloVenice
Gone or out of use
Puget Sound Naval Academyschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bainbridge Island
KanePort BlakelySeabold

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

Help out

Start Bainbridge Island’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewSeattle Mail and Herald, v. 8, no. Prog…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

3 listings protect 40 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
40
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Fort Ward Historic District
Fort Ward Historic DistrictBainbridge Island Filipino Community Hall, built 1928Camp Major Hopkins
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Craftsman1
Fort Ward Historic DistrictCraftsman
Bainbridge Island Filipino Community HallBuilt 1928
Camp Major HopkinsBuilding

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

The story

How Bainbridge Island came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bainbridge Island.

Read it all →

For thousands of years, members of the Suquamish people and their ancestors lived on the land now called Bainbridge Island. There were nine villages on the island; these included winter villages at Port Madison, Battle Point, Point White, Lynwood Center, Port Blakely, and Eagle Harbor, as well as summer villages at Manzanita, Fletcher Bay, and Rolling Bay.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bainbridge Island, 1792 to 1996

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1792In the archiveIllustration of the sailing vessel DISCOVERY in Puget Sound
  3. 19th century
  4. 1841
    FoundingBainbridge Island is established
  5. 1858Post officeThe Port Madison post office opens
  6. 1890Post officeThe Port Blakely post office opens
  7. 1891Post officeThe Crystal Springs post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1904In the archiveSeattle Mail and Herald, v. 8, no. Progress, Dec. 17, 1904
  10. 1919Post officeThe Crystal Springs post office closes
  11. 1928BuiltBainbridge Island Filipino Community Hall is built
  12. 1937On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1943Post officeThe Port Madison post office closes
  14. 1958Post officeThe Port Blakely post office closes
  15. 1986Born hereKiel Reijnen is born here
  16. 1990Born hereBen Eisenhardt is born here
  17. 1995Born hereHeidi Franz is born here
  18. 1996Born hereDove Cameron is born here
By decade

Bainbridge Island, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1790s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1790s1 item
Illustration of the sailing vessel DISCOVERY in Puget Sound1792Illustration of the sailing vessel DISCOVERY in Puget…Document
1900s1 item
Seattle Mail and Herald, v. 8, no. Progress, Dec. 17, 19041904Seattle Mail and Herald, v. 8, no. Progress, Dec. 17,…
1910s–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
Date unknown1 to date
Pacific Creosoting Plant, Plant Office, 5350 Creosote Place, Northeast, Bremerton, Kitsap County, WADate?Pacific Creosoting Plant, Plant Office, 5350 Creosote…
Today1 recent
"Table 1. Wartime Properties Identified in Public Law 102-248" (PART 2), from- Japanese Americans in World War II, a Na…2012"Table 1. Wartime Properties Identified in Public Law…
On the map

Bainbridge Island on the map, 1937 to 1992

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

Bainbridge Island on the 1937 USGS mapBainbridge Island on the 1975 USGS mapBainbridge Island on the 1992 USGS map1937Port Orchard sheet · 1:62,500

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

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.

Seattle Mail and Herald, v. 8, no. Progress, Dec. 17, 1904
Retake this viewSeattle Mail and Herald, v. 8, no. Progress, Dec. 17, 1904, 1904

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Bainbridge Island, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,000196019802000202024,825

Grew from 637 people in 1950 to 24,825 in 2020, more than tenfold.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Famous people

8 famous people were born in Bainbridge Island

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Dove CameronAmerican actress and singer · b. 1996
Kiel ReijnenAmerican cyclist · b. 1986
Heidi FranzAmerican cyclist · b. 1995
B
Ben EisenhardtAmerican-Israeli basketball player · b. 1990
J
Jordan HarrisonPlaywright · b. 1977
S
Sam KuhnAmerican film director · b. 1989
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Seattle226 historic placesA−ManchesterIts storyC

Questions about Bainbridge Island’s history

What year was Bainbridge Island founded?

In 1841, according to Wikidata. Bainbridge Island’s post office opened in 1858, and the census of 1950 counted 637 people here.

How does Bainbridge Island rank for history?

Bainbridge Island is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #16 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.

What is on the National Register in Bainbridge Island?

Three places: the Fort Ward Historic District (listed 1978), the Bainbridge Island Filipino Community Hall (1995) and the Camp Major Hopkins (2005).

How old are the homes in Bainbridge Island?

7% of Bainbridge Island’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1989.

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 (3), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.