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BHistory
History · Blaine

Blaine dates to 1858, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns · #53 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

Its Register listings are the MV PLOVER (ferry) and the Peace Arch. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1890.

1858founded
2on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Blaine’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Blaine began

When was Blaine founded?

1858

Blaine dates its founding to 1858 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 1,563 in 18902020 census: 5,884168 years

How historic is Blaine?

B

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1857.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Blaine’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Blaine is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #53 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Blaine’s overall grade.
Founding era1858, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194013.9% of homes (±4.5) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register2 listings, 3.3 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 56%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 82%

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 Blaine’s 3.3 sits above most of its state (71% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1858.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.5 points).

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 Blaine’s past

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

Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1910 and 1940, then grew 3-fold.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Blaine, and 2 old place names are still on the map.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1890 to 1907, drew every building in Blaine.
★ What stands out · People over time

Blaine, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,50019001920194019601980200020202,289 in 1910Low: 1,524

Lost a third of its people between 1910 and 1940, then grew 3-fold.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Blaine’s post office has been open since 1885. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Whatcom
1857–1904
Simeahmoo
1858–1860
Semiahmoo
1872–1908
Blaine
1885–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bel Air Village Trailer CourtSemiahmoo
Gone or out of use
Blaine Municipal Airportairport

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

Every building

Blaine, building by building, 1890–1907

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Blaine fire insurance map, 1890, sheet 11890Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Blaine came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Blaine.

Read it all →

The land surrounding present day Drayton Harbor was historically occupied by the Semiahmoo people, which make up a portion of the ancestry of the current-day Lummi Nation. The area was settled in the mid-19th century by pioneers who established the town as a seaport for the west coast logging and fishing industries, and as a jumping off point for prospectors heading to British Columbia's gold fields.

In 1880, the Alaska Packers Association destroyed a Semiahmoo village and usurped their village site for a salmon cannery on Semiahmoo Spit.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Blaine, 1857 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857Post officeThe Whatcom post office opens
  3. 1858
    FoundingBlaine is established
  4. 1858Post officeThe Simeahmoo post office opens
  5. 1860Post officeThe Simeahmoo post office closes
  6. 1872Post officeThe Semiahmoo post office opens
  7. 1880In the archiveAmy E. Leonard, Blaine, Washington, ca. 1880
  8. 1890In the archiveYoung man possibly J. Hurlburt, Blaine, Washington, September 18, 1890
  9. 20th century
  10. 1904Post officeThe Whatcom post office closes
  11. 1908Post officeThe Semiahmoo post office closes
  12. 1909Born hereCharles Congdon is born here
  13. 1914In the archiveFMIB 44723 Plant of Ainsworth & Dunn, Blaine, Wash
  14. 1921BuiltPeace Arch is built
  15. 1922In the archiveGirl's basketball team, ca. 1922 - DPLA - c887ea5c8ff3ada4cab6091b841e1000
  16. 1931In the archiveBlaine Pacific Highway border station 1931
  17. 1965In the archiveInternational at Blaine, September 19, 1965
  18. 21st century
  19. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 5,884
By decade

Blaine, decade by decade

6 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1910s5 items
Amy E. Leonard, Blaine, Washington, ca. 1880c. 1880Amy E. Leonard, Blaine, Washington, ca. 1880Unidentified boy standing next to tree stump, Blaine, Washington, ca. 1880'sc. 1885Unidentified boy standing next to tree stump, Blaine,…Young man possibly J. Hurlburt, Blaine, Washington, September 18, 18901890Young man possibly J. Hurlburt, Blaine, Washington, S…FMIB 44723 Plant of Ainsworth & Dunn, Blaine, Wash1914FMIB 44723 Plant of Ainsworth & Dunn, Blaine, WashSecond Canadian customs and immigration station at Pacific Highway crossing between Blaine, Washington and Douglas Brit…c. 1915Second Canadian customs and immigration station at Pa…
1920s–1960s6 items
Girl's basketball team, ca. 1922 - DPLA - c887ea5c8ff3ada4cab6091b841e1000c. 1922Girl's basketball team, ca. 1922 - DPLA - c887ea5c8ff…Woman pointing to road sign with automobile in view, Blaine, Washington, 19271927Woman pointing to road sign with automobile in view, …Blaine Pacific Highway border station 19311931Blaine Pacific Highway border station 1931International at Blaine, September 19, 19651965International at Blaine, September 19, 1965DETAIL VIEW LOOKING WEST, FISH-HOUSE ELEVATOR - Semiahmoo Cannery, On Boundary Bay near Canadian border1968DETAIL VIEW LOOKING WEST, FISH-HOUSE ELEVATOR - Semia…GENERAL VIEW LOOKING SOULS, MARINE RAILWAY - Semiahmoo Cannery, On Boundary Bay near Canadian border1968GENERAL VIEW LOOKING SOULS, MARINE RAILWAY - Semiahmo…
1970s–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
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.

Amy E. Leonard, Blaine, Washington, ca. 1880
Retake this viewAmy E. Leonard, Blaine, Washington, ca. 1880, c. 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Blaine

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1996
Peace Arch
MV PLOVER (ferry)Peace Arch, built 1921
Objects

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival1
MV PLOVER (ferry)Object
All 2 listings
Peace ArchObject · listed 1996

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

Help out

Finish Blaine’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAmy E. Leonard, Blaine, Washington, ca.…: 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.

Birch BayIts storyC−

Questions about Blaine’s history

What year was Blaine founded?

In 1858, according to Wikidata. Blaine’s post office opened in 1857, and the census of 1890 counted 1,563 people here.

How does Blaine rank for history?

Blaine is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #53 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 Blaine?

Two places: the MV PLOVER (ferry) (listed 1997) and the Peace Arch (1996).

How old are the homes in Blaine?

14% of Blaine’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1994.

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 (11), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.