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AHistory
History · Colville

Colville dates to 1825, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 90% of U.S. towns · #1 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

8 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1880.

1825founded
8on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
8old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Colville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Colville began

When was Colville founded?

1825

Colville dates its founding to 1825 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 67 in 18802020 census: 4,917201 years

How historic is Colville?

A

More historic than 90% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1858.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Colville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Colville is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #1 of 285 in Washington. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Colville’s overall grade.
Founding era1825, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194022.3% of homes (±6.6) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register8 listings, 10 historic buildings, 20.0 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 90%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)#1 of 285

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 Colville’s 20.0 sits above most of its state (90% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 10 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.6 points). Two sources give 1825.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Colville’s past

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

Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Colville, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1891 to 1912, drew every building in Colville.Landmarks on the Register8 places on the National Register.Deep rootsEstablished in 1825: 201 years of Colville.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Colville’s post office has been open since 1883. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Fort Colville
1858–1883
Pinkney City
1859–1860
Colville
1883–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Millers Mobile Home ParkMobile Ranch ParkMountain View Mobile Home Park

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

Every building

Colville, building by building, 1891–1912

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.

Colville fire insurance map, 1891, sheet 11891Sheet 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.

On the National Register

8 historic places in Colville

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

places listed
8
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
10
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Keller House
Keller House, built 1910Colburn T. Winslow House, built 1909US Post Office-Colville MainColville Flour Mill, built 1905Rickey Block, built 1892Opera House and I. O. O. F. LodgeCollins Building, built 1937H. M. McCauley House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Moderne2
Bungalow1
American Foursquare1
Classical Revival1
Streamlined Art Deco1
Queen Anne1
Keller HouseBungalow · Built 1910
Colburn T. Winslow HouseAmerican Foursquare · Built 1909
US Post Office-Colville MainModerne
Colville Flour MillBuilt 1905
Rickey BlockBuilt 1892
Opera House and I. O. O. F. LodgeClassical Revival
Collins BuildingStreamlined Art Deco · Built 1937
All 8 listings
H. M. McCauley HouseBuilding · listed 1979

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

The story

How Colville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Colville.

Read it all →

John Work, an agent for The Hudson's Bay Company, established Fort Colvile near the Kettle Falls fur trading site in 1825. It replaced the Spokane House and the Flathead Post as the main trading center on the Upper Columbia River. The area was named for Andrew Colvile, a Hudson's Bay Company governor. The fort continued to be used for some time as a center of mining and transportation/supply support associated with gold rushes in the 1850s, particularly the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush. After it was abandoned in 1870, some buildings stood until as late as 1910. The site was flooded by Lake Roosevelt after construction of the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Colville, 1825 to 1952

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1825
    FoundingColville is established
  3. 1858Post officeThe Fort Colville post office opens
  4. 1859Post officeThe Pinkney City post office opens
  5. 1860In the archiveMule laden with casks - Boundary Commission huts, Colville, Columbia R
  6. 1860Post officeThe Pinkney City post office closes
  7. 1880In the archiveColville, Washington, n.d
  8. 1883Post officeThe Fort Colville post office closes
  9. 1883Post officeThe Colville post office opens
  10. 1892BuiltRickey Block is built
  11. 1893In the archiveColville Brewery, Colville, Washington, ca. 1893
  12. 20th century
  13. 1900In the archiveMain St. of Colville, Wash, ca. 1900
  14. 1905BuiltColville Flour Mill is built
  15. 1909BuiltColburn T. Winslow House is built
  16. 1910BuiltKeller House is built
  17. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Colville, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s–1890s5 items
Mule laden with casks - Boundary Commission huts, Colville, Columbia R1860Mule laden with casks - Boundary Commission huts, Col…Mule laden with casks - Boundary Commission huts, Colville, Columbia R1860Mule laden with casks - Boundary Commission huts, Col…Mule laden with casks - Boundary Commission huts1860Mule laden with casks - Boundary Commission hutsColville, Washington, n.d1880Colville, Washington, n.dColville Brewery, Colville, Washington, ca. 1893c. 1893Colville Brewery, Colville, Washington, ca. 1893
1900s3 items
Main St. of Colville, Wash, ca. 1900c. 1900Main St. of Colville, Wash, ca. 1900Man standing on a porch with Colville Photographs horse-drawn wagon at the front gate, Fort Colvillle, Washington, appr…c. 1900Man standing on a porch with Colville Photographs hor…Indian house, Colville, Wash1908Indian house, Colville, Wash
1910s–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
On the map

Colville on the map, 1952 to 1992

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

Colville on the 1952 USGS mapColville on the 1986 USGS mapColville on the 1992 USGS map1952Colville 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 Colville.

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.

Mule laden with casks - Boundary Commission huts, Colville, Columbia R
Retake this viewMule laden with casks - Boundary Commission huts, Colville, Columbia R, 1860

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Colville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,988

Between 67 and 4,988 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Colville’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMule laden with casks - Boundary Commis…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Colville’s history

What year was Colville founded?

In 1825, according to Wikidata. Colville’s post office opened in 1858, and the census of 1880 counted 67 people here.

How does Colville rank for history?

Colville is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #1 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 Colville?

8 listings: 8 buildings, among them the Keller House (listed 1979, the first). 10 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Colville?

22% of Colville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.6 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1968.

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 (7), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (8), Wikipedia, 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.