More historic than 4% of U.S. towns · #270 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Clyde Hill was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1950 on, and the census since 1960.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clyde Hill is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #270 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clyde Hill’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 Clyde Hill’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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Clyde Hill’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Between 1946 and 1948, J. Gordon and Mary Schneidler subdivided and sold more than a dozen lots in a five-acre subdivision in Clyde Hill. Like many US housing projects following World War II, each deed of sale included an exclusionary racial covenant: "This property shall not be resold, leased, rented or occupied except to or by persons of the Aryan race."
In response to the community's desire to control land use development such as lot size and commercial zoning, Clyde Hill was officially incorporated as a Town on March 31, 1953. On November 10, 1998, the Council voted to organize Clyde Hill as a non-charter Code City.
Clyde Hill is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #270 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 Clyde Hill?
0.0% of Clyde Hill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 (5), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
Date?
2021
2012
2012
2004
