Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Conway

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Conway

Conway’s post office opened in 1893, and 100% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1940 on, and the census since 2000.

1893first post office
0on the National Register
100%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Publichall at English Wikipedia · Public domain
Quick answers

How Conway began

When was Conway founded?

1893

The Conway post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 84 in 20002020 census: 87133 years
Founding year: the first Conway post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Conway’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Then and nowOne place photographed years apart. Drag to compare.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Conway’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Conway’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 viewFirst National Bank of: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Then & now

The same spot, 89 years apart

Drag across each photo to compare.

Conway, WA - former First National Bank of Conway 01First National Bank of19212010
First National Bank ofMatched from the two captions
The story so far

Conway, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Conway yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Conway is a census-designated place (CDP) in Skagit County, Washington, United States. First settled in 1873 by Thomas P. Jones and Charles Villeneuves, its population was 87 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Mount Vernon–Anacortes, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1893. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 91 to 87 (-4%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Conway, 1893 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1893Post officeThe Conway post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1921In the archiveFirst National Bank of
  5. 1940On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Conway, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
First National Bank of1921First National Bank of
1930s–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
Today15 recent
Lush meadow near Conway, north of Seattle2018Lush meadow near Conway, north of SeattleBarn and silo near Conway, Washington, north of Seattle2018Barn and silo near Conway, Washington, north of Seatt…Fisherman on the Skagit River, near Conway, Washington2018Fisherman on the Skagit River, near Conway, WashingtonJuglansNigra-TheChamp 19400SkagitCityRd-ConwayWA Cutler 20151011 1245282015JuglansNigra-TheChamp 19400SkagitCityRd-ConwayWA Cutl…Cygnus buccinator 38672012Cygnus buccinator 3867International KB52010International KB5Fir Island - 18004 Fir Island Road2010Fir Island - 18004 Fir Island RoadConway, WA pano 012010Conway, WA pano 01Conway, WA - grain elevator 012010Conway, WA - grain elevator 01Conway, WA - former First National Bank of Conway 012010Conway, WA - former First National Bank of Conway 01Conway, WA - The Conway Muse 012010Conway, WA - The Conway Muse 01Conway, WA - Sons of Norway Lodge 012010Conway, WA - Sons of Norway Lodge 01Conway, WA - American Legion Hall & Conway Pub 022010Conway, WA - American Legion Hall & Conway Pub 02Conway, WA - American Legion Hall & Conway Pub 012010Conway, WA - American Legion Hall & Conway Pub 01Main Street2006Main Street
On the map

Conway on the map, 1940 to 1998

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

Conway on the 1940 USGS mapConway on the 1956 USGS mapConway on the 1968 USGS mapConway on the 1973 USGS mapConway on the 1981 USGS mapConway on the 1998 USGS map1940Mt Vernon 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 Conway.

People over time

Conway, census by census

010020002020Peak: 91

Between 84 and 91 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Conway

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

See all →
Jim CaviezelAmerican actor · b. 1968
C
Chad LindbergAmerican actor · b. 1976
Patricia McPhersonAmerican actress · b. 1954
M
Marti MalloyAmerican judoka · b. 1986
T. J. OshieAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1986
Eugene H. PetersonAmerican translator · b. 1932

Questions about Conway’s history

What year was Conway founded?

The Conway post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (13), the Library of Congress (3), 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.