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BHistory
History · Chelan

Chelan’s post office opened in 1890, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns · #41 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 1 buildings. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1910.

1890first post office
5on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
7old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Chelan’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Chelan began

When was Chelan founded?

1890

The Chelan post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1902.

First census: 682 in 19102020 census: 4,222136 years

How historic is Chelan?

B

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Chelan post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1902.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Chelan’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chelan is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #41 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 Chelan’s overall grade.
Founding era1890, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194013.8% of homes (±6.3) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register5 listings, 11.5 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 63%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 86%

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 Chelan’s 11.5 sits above most of its state (86% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 5 listings outnumber those of 70% 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 (±6.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1902.

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 Chelan’s past

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

Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

5 historic places in Chelan

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

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
Lake Chelan Hydroelectric Power Plant
Ruby Theater, built 1913St. Andrews Episcopal ChurchRichard Hinton Lord House, built 1902Lake Chelan Hydroelectric Power Plant
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Hipped Roof Vernacular1
Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
Arts and Crafts1
Queen Anne1
Concrete Gravity Diversion Dam1
Industrial Vernacular1
Chelan Butte LookoutHipped Roof Vernacular · Built 1938
Ruby TheaterLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals · Built 1913
St. Andrews Episcopal ChurchArts and Crafts
Richard Hinton Lord HouseQueen Anne · Built 1902
All 5 listings
Lake Chelan Hydroelectric Power PlantDistrict · listed 1988

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

The story

How Chelan came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Chelan.

Read it all →

The original inhabitants of the Chelan area were the Chelan, a tribe of Salish-speaking Native Americans. Relatively little is known about the culture and lifestyle of the early Chelan, as the tribe had adopted the dress, beadwork, and equestrian culture of the Plains Native Americans by the time of European contact. Infectious diseases including smallpox and measles arrived sometime prior to white settlement of the area, and had killed an estimated 90% of the Natives by the time explorer David Thompson arrived on the Columbia in 1811.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Chelan in 1904

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

On the west bank of the Columbia, on the south side of the Chelan river, is located the town of Chelan Falls. The river is the outlet •of Lake Chelan and Chelan Falls is about four and one-half miles from the town of Chelan.
An illustrated history of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan counties, state of Washington1904 · page 728Read the page →
Read the text

On the west bank of the Columbia, on the south side of the Chelan river, is located the town of Chelan Falls. The river is the outlet •of Lake Chelan and Chelan Falls is about four and one-half miles from the town of Chelan.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
of Kittitas and Okanogan counties at the time of the governor's proclamation hereinbefore referred to, affecting the title or possession of real estate in Chelan county, or in which one or all parties are residents of Chelan county, shall be transferred to the superior court of Chelan county, and a…
Illustrated history of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan counties, state of Washington1904Read the page →
Read the text

of Kittitas and Okanogan counties at the time of the governor's proclamation hereinbefore referred to, affecting the title or possession of real estate in Chelan county, or in which one or all parties are residents of Chelan county, shall be transferred to the superior court of Chelan county, and all further proceedings had therein shall be in Chelan county the same

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

Chelan, 1890 to 1994

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890Post officeThe Chelan post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1902BuiltRichard Hinton Lord House is built
  5. 1903In the archive009 Campers at Lake Chelan, and, view of town of Chelan, 1903
  6. 1912In the archiveChelan Indian women on horseback
  7. 1913BuiltRuby Theater is built
  8. 1921Born hereDan Fenno Henderson is born here
  9. 1938BuiltChelan Butte Lookout is built
  10. 1942Born hereAlice Stuart is born here
  11. 1968On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1974Born hereAndy Larkin is born here
  13. 1982Born hereMike Steele is born here
  14. 1994In the archiveView looking NW shows Lake Chalan in distance and telephone company microwave tower in fo…
By decade

Chelan, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s6 items
009 Campers at Lake Chelan, and, view of town of Chelan, 19031903009 Campers at Lake Chelan, and, view of town of Chel…The outlet of Lake Chelan1907The outlet of Lake ChelanSparkling Lake Chelan, west to Sawtooth Mountains, Washington1907Sparkling Lake Chelan, west to Sawtooth Mountains, Wa…Twelve miles of Lake Chelan, from south bluffs, Washington1907Twelve miles of Lake Chelan, from south bluffs, Washi…Chelan Indian women on horseback1912Chelan Indian women on horsebackLyman Glacier(?), Lake Chelan, Washington1915Lyman Glacier(?), Lake Chelan, Washington
1920s–1980snothing 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
1990s1 item
View looking NW shows Lake Chalan in distance and telephone company microwave tower in foreground. - Chelan Butte Looko…1994View looking NW shows Lake Chalan in distance and tel…
Today15 recent
Fall Color, Lake Chelan - Flickr - brewbooks (1)2012Fall Color, Lake Chelan - Flickr - brewbooks (1)Echo Ridge Summer trails - Flickr - brewbooks2012Echo Ridge Summer trails - Flickr - brewbooksEcho Ridge Maps - Flickr - brewbooks2012Echo Ridge Maps - Flickr - brewbooksChelan, Washington aerial 01A2012Chelan, Washington aerial 01AChelan, Washington aerial 012012Chelan, Washington aerial 01Arrowleaf balsamroot in the late fall - Flickr - brewbooks2012Arrowleaf balsamroot in the late fall - Flickr - brew…Columbia River with Chelan Falls and Chelan Lake2010Columbia River with Chelan Falls and Chelan LakeTumbleweed in2009Tumbleweed inHeaded For The Tunnel2009Headed For The TunnelChelan, WA - Riverwalk Pavilion 022008Chelan, WA - Riverwalk Pavilion 02Chelan, WA - Riverwalk Pavilion 012008Chelan, WA - Riverwalk Pavilion 01Chelan, WA - Riverwalk 012008Chelan, WA - Riverwalk 01Town of Chelan at south east end of Lake2007Town of Chelan at south east end of LakeNice Day-May 07-LK2007Nice Day-May 07-LKLK Chelan State Park Campground At Sunrise2007LK Chelan State Park Campground At Sunrise
On the map

Chelan on the map, 1968 to 2004

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

Chelan on the 1968 USGS mapChelan on the 1981 USGS mapChelan on the 2004 USGS map1968Chelan 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 Chelan.

Every building

Chelan, building by building, 1905–1909

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.

Chelan fire insurance map, 1905, sheet 11905Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
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.

009 Campers at Lake Chelan, and, view of town of Chelan, 1903
Retake this view009 Campers at Lake Chelan, and, view of town of Chelan, 1903, 1903

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Chelan, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5001920194019601980200020204,222

Grew from 682 people in 1910 to 4,222 in 2020, 6 times over.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Chelan

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

See all →
Alice StuartAmerican musician · b. 1942
A
Andy LarkinAmerican baseball player · b. 1974
D
Dan Fenno HendersonAmerican political scientist · b. 1921
M
Mike SteeleAmerican politician · b. 1982
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Chelan’s post office has been open since 1890.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Lake Chelan HillsLakeside
1cemetery inside Chelan
Chelan Fraternal

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

Help out

Finish Chelan’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view009 Campers at Lake Chelan, and, view o…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Chelan’s history

What year was Chelan founded?

The Chelan post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1902.

How does Chelan rank for history?

Chelan is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #41 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 Chelan?

5 listings: 4 buildings and 1 historic district, the Lake Chelan Hydroelectric Power Plant, with 1 contributing buildings.

How old are the homes in Chelan?

14% of Chelan’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1984.

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 Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.