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–Not graded
History · Coulee City

Coulee City’s post office opened in 1890, and 59% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1909 on and the census since 1910.

1890first post office
0on the National Register
59%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Publichall at English Wikipedia · Public domain
Quick answers

How Coulee City began

When was Coulee City founded?

1890

The Coulee City post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Macintee (1888) and Coulee (1922), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 276 in 19102020 census: 549136 years
Founding year: the first Coulee City post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Coulee City’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Coulee City are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Coulee City’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 977 in 1950; 549 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Coulee City.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Coulee City’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Coulee City’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Coulee City came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Coulee City.

Read it all →

Coulee City was commonly known as McEntee’s Crossing of the Grand Coulee in the 19th century. In 1881, Philip McEntee, after helping a group of surveyors trying to lay down a road, built the first log cabin around Coulee City. Other important pioneers soon followed in the following years.

The town was named after nearby Grand Coulee. Coulee City was officially incorporated on May 10, 1907.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Coulee City, census by census

02004006008001,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 977

Peaked at 977 in 1950; 549 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Timeline

Coulee City, 1888 to 1965

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Macintee post office opens
  3. 1890Post officeThe Macintee post office closes
  4. 1890Post officeThe Coulee City post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1914Born hereNat W. Washington is born here
  7. 1922Post officeThe Coulee post office opens
  8. 1937Post officeThe Coulee post office closes
  9. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 977
  10. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Coulee City, decade by decade

Today3 recent
2015, Coulee City, WA20152015, Coulee City, WACoulee City, Washington2007Coulee City, WashingtonCoulee City Rodeo2007Coulee City Rodeo
On the map

Coulee City on the map in 1965

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Coulee City.

Coulee City on the 1965 USGS map1965Coulee City 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 Coulee City.

Every building

Coulee City, building by building, 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 sheet.

Coulee City fire insurance map, 1909, sheet 11909Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Coulee City’s post office has been open since 1890. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Macintee
1888–1890
Coulee City
1890–today
Coulee
1922–1937
18801950today

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Banks Lake SouthIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Coulee City’s history

What year was Coulee City founded?

The Coulee City post office opened in 1890, 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 (3), 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.