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CHistory
History · Buckley

Buckley’s post office opened in 1888, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 33% of U.S. towns · #118 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1890.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Buckley’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Buckley began

When was Buckley founded?

1888

The Buckley post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1889.

First census: 878 in 18902020 census: 5,114138 years

How historic is Buckley?

C

More historic than 33% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Buckley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1889.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Buckley’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Buckley is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #118 of 285 in Washington. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Buckley’s overall grade.
Founding era1888, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194013.4% of homes (±9.2) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical WA town 0.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 33%
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 Buckley’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.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1889 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 Buckley’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1892 to 1910, drew every building in Buckley.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Buckley’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPreparing to build concrete culvert to …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Buckley, building by building, 1892–1910

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.

Buckley fire insurance map, 1892, sheet 11892Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How Buckley came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Buckley.

Read it all →

1856 Decisive battle of the Puget Sound War fought at Connell's Prairie, 6 miles (10 km) west of Buckley. It was significant because it boosted the morale of the settlers because it was such a great victory with no casualties to the regulars or volunteers.

Jeremiah 'Jerry' Stilley, first permanent non-Indian resident, settled West of town.

1877 Railroad built from Tacoma to Wilkeson to transport coal.

1884 Northern Pacific built railroad spur track from Cascade Junction (between South Prairie and Buckley) to Perkin's Prairie. Town given name "White River Siding" by railroad men.

Town renamed "Buckley" for J.M. Buckley, Northern Pacific Railway district superintendent.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Buckley in 1927

Passages that mention Buckley, cut from the printed page as they were published.

F. W. France attended the public schools of Minnesota but his education has mainly been gained in the hard school of experience. He assisted his father in the grain business in Oregon and in 1889 came to Buckley, where he was identified with his father in the sawmill business. After the latter left…
History of Pierce County Washington1927 · page 492Read the page →
Read the text

F. W. France attended the public schools of Minnesota but his education has mainly been gained in the hard school of experience. He assisted his father in the grain business in Oregon and in 1889 came to Buckley, where he was identified with his father in the sawmill business. After the latter left Buckley, F. W. France carried on the sawmill and store until he sold the latter. In 1897 he was appointed postmaster, being the third incumbent of that office here and serving continuously for seventeen years and one month. In 1914, in partnership with J. N. Clark, he opened the White Front grocery store, under the firm name of France & Clark, con-

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A. R. HOWLAND The town of Buckley received a distinct acquisition to its business circles when A. R. Howland located here, and during all the years of his residence here he has been numbered among the progressive and enterprising merchants of the town. His efforts have been rewarded with a fair mea…
History of Pierce County Washington1927 · page 519Read the page →
Read the text

A. R. HOWLAND The town of Buckley received a distinct acquisition to its business circles when A. R. Howland located here, and during all the years of his residence here he has been numbered among the progressive and enterprising merchants of the town. His efforts have been rewarded with a fair measure of prosperity for he has not only kept a well stocked store, but his business principles have also been such as have gained for him the confidence and good will of all who-have dealt with him.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Buckley, 1888 to 1942

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Buckley post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1911In the archivePreparing to build concrete culvert to lead flume under the railroad trestle at Buckley, …
  5. 1912Born hereLucille Lund is born here
  6. 1921Born hereThron Riggs is born here
  7. 1937In the archiveQSL W7ELJ (1937)
  8. 1942On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Buckley, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1930s2 items
Preparing to build concrete culvert to lead flume under the railroad trestle at Buckley, April 4, 19111911Preparing to build concrete culvert to lead flume und…QSL W7ELJ (1937)1937QSL W7ELJ (1937)
1940s–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
Today16 recent
Wallys 31632022Wallys 3163Rainier from 410 (Buckley) 31822022Rainier from 410 (Buckley) 3182Foothills Trail 31622022Foothills Trail 3162Foothills Trail 31612022Foothills Trail 3161Buckley, WA — Main Street looking west (2022-02-18)2022Buckley, WA — Main Street looking west (2022-02-18)Buckley Park 45262022Buckley Park 4526Hoary Marmot and Western Anemones2017Hoary Marmot and Western AnemonesBuckley WA seen from Pinnacle Peak2017Buckley WA seen from Pinnacle PeakWeeks' Funeral Home at Buckley Cemetery2011Weeks' Funeral Home at Buckley CemeteryMain Street Coffee House2011Main Street Coffee HouseMain St2011Main StBuilding in2011Building inBuckley Welcome Sign2011Buckley Welcome SignBuckley Police Department2011Buckley Police DepartmentBuckley City Hall2011Buckley City Hall2011-11-25, Bench in20112011-11-25, Bench in
On the map

Buckley on the map, 1942 to 1993

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

Buckley on the 1942 USGS mapBuckley on the 1956 USGS mapBuckley on the 1968 USGS mapBuckley on the 1973 USGS mapBuckley on the 1993 USGS map1942Lake Tapps 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 Buckley.

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.

Preparing to build concrete culvert to lead flume under the railroad trestle at Buckley, April 4, 1911
Retake this viewPreparing to build concrete culvert to lead flume under the railroad trestle at Buckley, April 4, 1911, 1911

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Buckley, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,50019001920194019601980200020205,114

Grew from 878 people in 1890 to 5,114 in 2020, 5 times over.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Buckley

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

See all →
Lucille LundAmerican film actress · b. 1912
Thron RiggsAmerican gridiron football player · b. 1921
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Buckley’s post office has been open since 1888.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Meadowbrook Mobile Home Park
1cemetery inside Buckley
Buckley

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

Questions about Buckley’s history

What year was Buckley founded?

The Buckley post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1889.

How does Buckley rank for history?

Buckley is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #118 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.

How old are the homes in Buckley?

13% of Buckley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.2 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1995.

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), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.