Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 9% of U.S. towns · #244 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Belfair was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Below: maps from 1938 on.
The Belfair post office opened in 1915, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 9% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Belfair is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #244 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 Belfair’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (27% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Belfair’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Belfair.
Belfair was originally referred to as Clifton, as were several other towns in the state. To avoid confusion, it was renamed in 1925 by Mrs. Murray, then postmaster, who submitted the name Belfair from a book that she was then reading.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Belfair. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Belfair.
Nobody well known was born in Belfair itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Belfair’s post office has been open since 1915.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Belfair post office opened in 1915, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Belfair is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #244 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.
3% of Belfair’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1994.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
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