Cashmere’s post office opened in 1904, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns · #28 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 51 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1909 on, and the census since 1910.
The Cashmere post office opened in 1904, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Mission (1889), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 625 in 19102020 census: 3,248122 years
How historic is Cashmere?
B+
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Cashmere post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cashmere’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cashmere is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #28 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 Cashmere’s overall grade.
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 Cashmere’s 154 sits above most of its state (97% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 51 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 C+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.9 points). 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 Cashmere’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Prior to 1850, the village Ntuatckam was estimated to have a population of 400 on the site of present day Cashmere. The indigenous people are the Sinpesquensi, a band of the Wenatchi people, who were sustained by abundant game and anadromous fish. The Wenatchee River, which runs through Cashmere, was historically home to coho, chinook, and sockeye salmon, as well as steelhead. These wild stocks have been severely impacted by the dams on the Columbia River, although several runs still exist. The Wenatchi people were displaced to the Colville Indian Reservation by the federal government, but still claim some fishing rights in the area.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cashmere. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1968Cashmere 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 Cashmere.
Every building
Cashmere, building by building, 1909–1915
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.
1909Sheet 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.
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.
Retake this view003 Cashmere in the Wenatchee Valley, n.d, 1895
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Cashmere’s page.
The Cashmere post office opened in 1904, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Cashmere rank for history?
Cashmere is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #28 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 Cashmere?
Two places: the Burbank Homestead Waterwheel (listed 1973) and the Cottage Avenue Historic District (2002).
How old are the homes in Cashmere?
26% of Cashmere’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.9 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1971.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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 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.
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