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CHistory
History · Battle Ground

Battle Ground’s post office opened in 1871, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 34% of U.S. towns · #117 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

Most of Battle Ground was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 6 buildings. Below: maps from 1940 on and the census since 1960.

1871first post office
1on the National Register
0.9%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Battle Ground began

When was Battle Ground founded?

1871

The Battle Ground post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1902.

First census: 888 in 19602020 census: 20,743155 years

How historic is Battle Ground?

C

More historic than 34% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Battle Ground post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1902.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Battle Ground’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Battle Ground is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #117 of 285 in Washington. 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 Battle Ground’s overall grade.
Founding era1871, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.9% of homes (±0.9) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 6 historic buildings, 2.7 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 34%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 59%

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 Battle Ground’s 2.7 sits above most of its state (68% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1902.

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 →

What stands out about Battle Ground’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Battle Ground are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Battle Ground’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Battle Ground came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Battle Ground.

Read it all →

Battle Ground got its name from a standoff between a group of the Klickitat peoples and a military force from the Vancouver Barracks, which had recently transitioned to a U.S. Army post. By 1855, members of the Klickitat peoples had been imprisoned at the Vancouver Barracks. The hostile conditions of their detainment inspired some of the Klickitats to decamp.

This group of Klickitat peoples headed north, led by Chief Umtuch (or Umtux, according to some accounts). When the community at Fort Vancouver discovered this escape, they assembled an armed contingent led by Captain William Strong to pursue the Klickitats. Captain Strong's party eventually found the Klickitats near the present-day location of downtown Battle Ground.

ChaptersNameEarly settlementLater development

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Battle Ground, 1871 to 1977

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Battle Ground post office opens
  3. 1895Born hereEdward Allworth is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1940On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1977Born hereRichie Frahm is born here
By decade

Battle Ground, decade by decade

Today16 recent
Tukes Valley Middle School Old Oak Tree2025Tukes Valley Middle School Old Oak TreeTukes Valley Middle School Marching Band 20252025Tukes Valley Middle School Marching Band 2025River HomeLink Sign with Flowers2025River HomeLink Sign with FlowersLewisville Campus sign2025Lewisville Campus signBattle Ground High School2025Battle Ground High SchoolStreet mural of history of Battle Grounds, Washington, historic sign, March 20202020Street mural of history of Battle Grounds, Washington…Street mural of history of Battle Grounds, Washington, 1910 census, March 20202020Street mural of history of Battle Grounds, Washington…Friends of Battle Ground Community Library, Battle Ground, Washington, March 20202020Friends of Battle Ground Community Library, Battle Gr…Fire hydrant, Battle Grounds, Washington, rear, March 20202020Fire hydrant, Battle Grounds, Washington, rear, March…Fire hydrant, Battle Grounds, Washington, March 20202020Fire hydrant, Battle Grounds, Washington, March 2020Chief Thomas Umtouch in Battle Grounds, WA, street mural, March 20202020Chief Thomas Umtouch in Battle Grounds, WA, street mu…Captain William Strong in Battle Grounds, WA, street mural, March 20202020Captain William Strong in Battle Grounds, WA, street …Battle Grounds, Washington, United States Post Office, March 20202020Battle Grounds, Washington, United States Post Office…Battle Grounds, Washington, Main Street, west, March 20202020Battle Grounds, Washington, Main Street, west, March …Battle Grounds, Washington, Main Street, east March 20202020Battle Grounds, Washington, Main Street, east March 2…Leaves at Battle Ground Lake State Park2014Leaves at Battle Ground Lake State Park
On the map

Battle Ground on the map, 1940 to 1990

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

Battle Ground on the 1940 USGS mapBattle Ground on the 1954 USGS mapBattle Ground on the 1970 USGS mapBattle Ground on the 1990 USGS map1940La Center 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 Battle Ground.

On the National Register

1 listing protects 6 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1986
Lewisville Park
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Rustic1
Lewisville ParkRustic

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

People over time

Battle Ground, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,000196019802000202020,743

Grew from 888 people in 1960 to 20,743 in 2020, more than tenfold.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Battle Ground

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

See all →
Richie FrahmAmerican basketball player · b. 1977
Edward AllworthUnited States Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1895
N
Noel FramePolitician
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Battle Ground’s post office has been open since 1871.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Battle Ground WestKumtuxScotton Corner
1cemetery inside Battle Ground
Dublin

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

HockinsonIts storyCMeadow GladeIts storyDLewisvilleIts storyCCherry Grove1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townVenersborgIts storyD−Brush Prairie1 historic placeC+

Questions about Battle Ground’s history

What year was Battle Ground founded?

The Battle Ground post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1902.

How does Battle Ground rank for history?

Battle Ground is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #117 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 Battle Ground?

One place: the Lewisville Park (listed 1986).

How old are the homes in Battle Ground?

0.9% of Battle Ground’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 2003.

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 (16), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.