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History · Bay Center

Bay Center’s post office opened in 1876, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1938 on and the census since 2000.

1876first post office
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Bay Center began

When was Bay Center founded?

1876

The Bay Center post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 174 in 20002020 census: 253150 years
Founding year: the first Bay Center post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Bay Center’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 Bay Center are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bay Center’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bay Center’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 so far

Bay Center, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bay Center yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Bay Center is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pacific County, Washington, United States. The population was 174 at the 2000 census. The population increased to 276 at the 2010 census. However, in the 2020 census, the population decreased to 253. A post office called Bay Center has been in operation since 1876. The community was named for its central location on the harbor.

Its first post office opened in 1876. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 276 to 253 (-8%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Bay Center, decade by decade

Today8 recent
Bay Center, WA - waterfront 032021Bay Center, WA - waterfront 03Bay Center, WA - waterfront 022021Bay Center, WA - waterfront 02Bay Center, WA - waterfront 012021Bay Center, WA - waterfront 01Bay Center, WA - tree near Bay Center Pioneer Cemetery2021Bay Center, WA - tree near Bay Center Pioneer CemeteryBay Center, WA - oyster shells2021Bay Center, WA - oyster shellsBay Center, WA - oyster shells by the side of the inlet, seen from Bay Center Pioneer Cemetery2021Bay Center, WA - oyster shells by the side of the inl…Bay Center, WA - ballot drop box and Chinook Tribal Office 012021Bay Center, WA - ballot drop box and Chinook Tribal O…Bay Center, WA - Chinook Tribal Office 012021Bay Center, WA - Chinook Tribal Office 01
On the map

Bay Center on the map, 1938 to 1957

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

Bay Center on the 1938 USGS mapBay Center on the 1940 USGS mapBay Center on the 1957 USGS map1938South Bend 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 Bay Center.

People over time

Bay Center, census by census

010020030020002020Peak: 276

Between 174 and 276 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Bay Center

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

See all →
Kurt CobainAmerican rock musician, singer and songwriter · b. 1967
Douglas OsheroffAmerican physicist · b. 1945
G
George H. HitchingsNobel Prize-winning American physician · b. 1905
Bryan DanielsonAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1981
Holly MadisonAmerican television personality · b. 1979
R
Robert MotherwellAmerican abstract expressionist painter, printm… · b. 1915
Places that used to be

Old corners

Bay Center’s post office has been open since 1876.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Rhodesia Beach

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

Questions about Bay Center’s history

What year was Bay Center founded?

The Bay Center post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (8), 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.