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CHistory
History · Bellevue

Bellevue dates to 1869, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 25% of U.S. towns · #155 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

Most of Bellevue was built recently: 0.8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Its Register listing is the Frederick W. Winters House. Its Register listing is the Frederick W. Winters House. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1950 on, and the census since 1900.

1869founded
1on the National Register
0.8%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
52famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bellevue’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bellevue began

When was Bellevue founded?

1869

Bellevue dates its founding to 1869 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 254 in 19002020 census: 151,854157 years

How historic is Bellevue?

C

More historic than 25% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1886.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Bellevue’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bellevue is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #155 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 Bellevue’s overall grade.
Founding era1869, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.8% of homes (±0.3) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 0.1 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 25%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 46%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Bellevue ranks #331 on History.

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 Bellevue’s 0.1 sits near the middle of its state (53% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

Newer cities are common at Bellevue’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.3 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1869.

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 Bellevue’s past

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

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Bellevue, and 28 old place names are still on the map.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1900 and 1910, then grew more than tenfold.A town in old photos18 old photos, postcards and papers, 1890–1915.Famous sons and daughtersLarry Sanger, Layne Staley and 50 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

Bellevue’s post office has been open since 1886. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bellevue
1886–today
Northup
1892–1897
Hazelwood
1908–1930
Factoria
1911–1925
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AshwoodBelridgeClydeCoal CreekCougar HillsCrossroadsEastgateFactoriaHazelwoodHighlandsHilltopLake HeightsLake HillsMidlakesMoorlandNewportNewport ShoresNorthrupNorwood VillageOverlakePinesRobinswoodSomersetSunset Village
Gone or out of use
Bellevue AirfieldairportHyak Junior High Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Bellevue
Sunset Hills Memorial Park

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

People over time

Bellevue, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000100,000120,000140,000160,0001900192019401960198020002020254 in 1900Low: 150

Lost a third of its people between 1900 and 1910, then grew more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

By decade

Bellevue, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s5 items
Ferry S.S. AQUILO with passengers on Lake Washington, Washington, ca. 1890c. 1890Ferry S.S. AQUILO with passengers on Lake Washington,…Steamer ferry C.C. CALKINS on Lake Washington, 18901890Steamer ferry C.C. CALKINS on Lake Washington, 1890William Charles Meydenbauer, Seattle, ca. 1892c. 1892William Charles Meydenbauer, Seattle, ca. 1892William Charles Meydenbauer, Seattle, ca. 1892c. 1892William Charles Meydenbauer, Seattle, ca. 1892May Johnson on a horse delivering the mail, Washington, 18981898May Johnson on a horse delivering the mail, Washingto…
1900s–1910s13 items
Farms and church above Meydenbauer Bay, Washington, 19001900Farms and church above Meydenbauer Bay, Washington, 1…Unidentified man and boy standing in the orchard of the Warren family farm, Bellevue, Washington, ca. 1905c. 1905Unidentified man and boy standing in the orchard of t…Unidentified young man on a horse at 108th Avenue N.E., Bellevue, Washington, ca. 1905c. 1905Unidentified young man on a horse at 108th Avenue N.E…Rudy, Tom and Andy Sharpe standing on a rural road leading to a farmhouse, Bellevue, Washington, 19071907Rudy, Tom and Andy Sharpe standing on a rural road le…Rody Burrows standing with a calf on the Warren family farm, Bellevue, Washington, ca. 1913c. 1913Rody Burrows standing with a calf on the Warren famil…Two unidentified boys on a horse on the Warren family farm, Bellevue, Washington, ca. 1913c. 1913Two unidentified boys on a horse on the Warren family…Bellevue Ferry Landing, Meydenbauer Bay, Washington, May 30, 19141914Bellevue Ferry Landing, Meydenbauer Bay, Washington, …Farm and residence near Bellevue1915Farm and residence near BellevueFarmland and road near Bellevue1915Farmland and road near BellevueFerry LESCHI on Lake Washington, Washington, ca. 1915c. 1915Ferry LESCHI on Lake Washington, Washington, ca. 1915Panoramic view in vicinity of Bellevue1915Panoramic view in vicinity of BellevuePanoramic view in vicinity of Bellevue1915Panoramic view in vicinity of BellevuePanoramic view in vicinity of Bellevue1915Panoramic view in vicinity of Bellevue
1920s–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
The story

How Bellevue came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bellevue.

Read it all →

The Duwamish, whose main settlements were located in present-day Renton and Seattle, maintained a small outpost settlement called Satskal (SAH-tsah-kahl) along the Mercer Slough, south of present-day downtown Bellevue. It was from this village that an attack on the settlers of Elliott Bay was staged. The Duwamish also had a village near Factoria called 'pah-pah-DEEL'.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bellevue, 1869 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869
    FoundingBellevue is established
  3. 1886Post officeThe Bellevue post office opens
  4. 1890In the archiveFerry S.S. AQUILO with passengers on Lake Washington, Washington, ca. 1890
  5. 1892Post officeThe Northup post office opens
  6. 1897Post officeThe Northup post office closes
  7. 20th century
  8. 1900In the archiveFarms and church above Meydenbauer Bay, Washington, 1900
  9. 1908Post officeThe Hazelwood post office opens
  10. 1913In the archiveRody Burrows standing with a calf on the Warren family farm, Bellevue, Washington, ca. 19…
  11. 1930Post officeThe Hazelwood post office closes
  12. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1953Born herePeter Horton is born here
  14. 1967Born hereLayne Staley is born here
  15. 1968Born hereLarry Sanger is born here
  16. 1986Born hereTravis Stevens is born here
  17. 21st century
  18. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 151,854
On the map

Bellevue on the map, 1950 to 1983

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

Bellevue on the 1950 USGS mapBellevue on the 1968 USGS mapBellevue on the 1973 USGS mapBellevue on the 1983 USGS map1950Mercer Island sheet · 1:24,000

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

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.

Ferry S.S. AQUILO with passengers on Lake Washington, Washington, ca. 1890
Retake this viewFerry S.S. AQUILO with passengers on Lake Washington, Washington, ca. 1890, c. 1890

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Bellevue

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1992
Frederick W. Winters House
Frederick W. Winters House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Spanish Revival1
Frederick W. Winters HouseSpanish Revival

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

Famous people

52 famous people were born in Bellevue

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

See all →
Larry SangerAmerican former professor, co-founder of Wikipe… · b. 1968
Layne StaleyAmerican rock musician · b. 1967
Peter HortonAmerican actor and director · b. 1953
T
Travis StevensAmerican judoka · b. 1986
Tim LincecumAmerican baseball player · b. 1984
Megan HiltyAmerican musical theatre actress · b. 1981
Help out

Finish Bellevue’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFerry S.S. AQUILO with passengers on La…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Redmond3 historic placesCMedina2 historic placesCBeaux Arts VillageIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townIssaquah4 historic placesC+Newcastle1 historic placeC−Kirkland8 historic placesC+Sammamish1 historic placeDClyde HillIts storyD−Mercer Island2 historic placesC−

Questions about Bellevue’s history

What year was Bellevue founded?

In 1869, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Bellevue’s post office opened in 1886, and the census of 1900 counted 254 people here.

How does Bellevue rank for history?

Bellevue is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #155 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 Bellevue?

One place: the Frederick W. Winters House (listed 1992).

How old are the homes in Bellevue?

0.8% of Bellevue’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1982.

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 (18), 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.