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C+History
History · Camano

Camano’s post office opened in 1903, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns · #105 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

Most of Camano was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 50 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1939 on, and the census since 1860.

1903first post office
4on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Camano began

When was Camano founded?

1903

The Camano post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Utsaladdy (1865), Mabana (1912) and Maple Cove (1912), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 58 in 18602020 census: 17,356123 years

How historic is Camano?

C+

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Camano’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Camano is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #105 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Camano’s overall grade.
Founding era1903, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19403.3% of homes (±1.4) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register4 listings, 53 historic buildings, 30.6 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 36%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 63%

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 Camano’s 30.6 sits above most of its state (92% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 53 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 Camano’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 Camano, and 18 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Cama Beach Resort takes in 50 historic buildings.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

Camano had its own post office from 1903 to 1924. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Utsaladdy
1865–1910
Camano
1903–1924
Mabana
1912–1936
Maple Cove
1912–1917
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BretlandCamp DianaDriftwood ShoresIndian BeachJuniper BeachLona BeachMabanaMadrona BeachMaple Grove BeachNew UtsaladdyPebble BeachRockaway BeachSaratoga ShoresSunny Shore AcresSunset BeachTerrys CornerTyee BeachUtsalady
Gone or out of use
Gilbertson PitmineLivingston Bay AirportairportRocky Point Quarrymine
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Camano
Camano LutheranCamano Pioneer

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

Help out

Start Camano’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewThe Town Crier, v.10, no.1, Jan. 2, 1915: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

4 listings protect 53 historic buildings

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
53
each building in a district counts
first listed
1993
Montague and McHugh Building
Montague and McHugh Building, built 1927Utsalady Ladies Aid Building, built 1923Cama Beach ResortKristoferson Dairy
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Neo-Classical Revival1
Vernacular1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Craftsman1
Montague and McHugh BuildingNeo-Classical Revival · Built 1927
Utsalady Ladies Aid BuildingVernacular · Built 1923
Cama Beach ResortBungalow/Craftsman
Kristoferson DairyCraftsman

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

The story

How Camano came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Camano.

Read it all →

Prior to American settlement, Camano Island was within the territory of both the Kikiallus and the Snohomish peoples. The Kikiallus controlled the northern parts of the island around modern-day Utsalady, while the Snohomish controlled the areas of the island south of Point Demock (Lushootseed: duʔdukʷšəd). Other tribes also used the island, such as the Lower Skagit, Stillaguamish, Snoqualmie, and Sauk-Suiattle. The island may have been a "free-use" area where usage was not strictly restricted like other places.

Chapters19th century20th century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Camano, 1865 to 1939

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1865Post officeThe Utsaladdy post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903Post officeThe Camano post office opens
  5. 1910Post officeThe Utsaladdy post office closes
  6. 1912Post officeThe Mabana post office opens
  7. 1915In the archiveThe Town Crier, v.10, no.1, Jan. 2, 1915
  8. 1923BuiltUtsalady Ladies Aid Building is built
  9. 1924Post officeThe Camano post office closes
  10. 1927BuiltMontague and McHugh Building is built
  11. 1936Post officeThe Mabana post office closes
  12. 1939On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Camano, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
The Town Crier, v.10, no.1, Jan. 2, 19151915The Town Crier, v.10, no.1, Jan. 2, 1915
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
Today11 recent
Cory's chickens 08 - Blue Hamburg pullet2016Cory's chickens 08 - Blue Hamburg pulletCory's chickens 07 - Brown Leghorn hen2016Cory's chickens 07 - Brown Leghorn henCory's chickens 06 - Brown Leghorn hen2016Cory's chickens 06 - Brown Leghorn henCory's chickens 05 - Egyptian Fayoumi pullet2016Cory's chickens 05 - Egyptian Fayoumi pulletCory's chickens 03 - Silver Spangled Hamburg pullet2016Cory's chickens 03 - Silver Spangled Hamburg pulletCory's chickens 02 - Silver Spangled Hamburg pullet (28667986362) (2)2016Cory's chickens 02 - Silver Spangled Hamburg pullet (…2010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for Camano North, Washington20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for Camano No…BookSen Mary Margaret Haugen2008Sen Mary Margaret HaugenSaratoga Passage2007Saratoga PassageParastichopus californicus 2 (pfly)2007Parastichopus californicus 2 (pfly)Parastichopus californicus 1 (pfly)2007Parastichopus californicus 1 (pfly)
On the map

Camano on the map, 1939 to 1968

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

Camano on the 1939 USGS mapCamano on the 1953 USGS mapCamano on the 1968 USGS map1939Coupeville 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 Camano.

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.

The Town Crier, v.10, no.1, Jan. 2, 1915
Retake this viewThe Town Crier, v.10, no.1, Jan. 2, 1915, 1915

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Camano, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,00018,00019001950200017,356

Grew from 58 people in 1860 to 17,356 in 2020, more than tenfold.

16 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Camano

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

See all →
Glenn BeckAmerican conservative political commentator · b. 1967
Randy CoutureAmerican mixed martial artist · b. 1963
Kenny LogginsAmerican singer and guitarist · b. 1948
Henry M. JacksonAmerican politician · b. 1912
Linda Lee CadwellAmerican teacher and the widow of martial arts … · b. 1945
Patricia McPhersonAmerican actress · b. 1954

Questions about Camano’s history

What year was Camano founded?

The Camano post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Camano rank for history?

Camano is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #105 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 Camano?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Montague and McHugh Building (listed 1993, the first), and 1 historic district, the Cama Beach Resort, with 50 contributing buildings. 53 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Camano?

3% of Camano’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1991.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, 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.