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BHistory
History · Coulee Dam

Coulee Dam dates to 1933, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 59% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Grand Coulee Bridge. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1948 on, and the census since 1960.

1933founded
1on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
7old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Coulee Dam’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Coulee Dam began

When was Coulee Dam founded?

1933

Coulee Dam dates its founding to 1933 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1960.

First census: 1,344 in 19602020 census: 1,21193 years

How historic is Coulee Dam?

B

More historic than 59% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1934.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Coulee Dam’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Coulee Dam is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Coulee Dam’s overall grade.
Founding era1933, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194035.4% of homes (±6.8) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register1 listing, 6.3 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 59%
NewerOlder

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 Coulee Dam’s 6.3 sits above most of its state (79% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±6.8 points). Two sources give 1933.

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 Coulee Dam’s past

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

Old housesHalf of Coulee Dam’s homes were built before 1953.
★ What stands out · The story

How Coulee Dam came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Coulee Dam.

Read it all →

Coulee Dam was founded by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in 1933, to serve as headquarters for the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam. The Okanogan County portion was known as Mason City, location of the head contractor. The portions in Douglas and Grant Counties were known as Engineers Town and were government-owned. In 1942, with the end of the contract in sight, CBI transferred control of Mason City to the Municipal Division of the Columbia Basin Project. In 1948, Mason City was incorporated into Coulee Dam. The government began the process of selling the town to the public in 1957, finishing in 1959. Coulee Dam was officially incorporated as a town on February 26, 1959.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Coulee Dam, 1900 to 1949

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900In the archiveCoulee's Dam - Wn. Coffer Dam
  3. 1933
    FoundingCoulee Dam is established
  4. 1934Post officeThe Coulee Dam post office opens
  5. 1934Post officeThe Mason City post office opens
  6. 1941In the archiveGrand Coulee Dam on the Columbia river, Washington
  7. 1943Post officeThe Mason City post office closes
  8. 1948On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1949Born hereLawrence Colburn is born here
By decade

Coulee Dam, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s5 items
Coulee's Dam - Wn. Coffer Dam1900Coulee's Dam - Wn. Coffer DamCoffer Dam & Mason City1900Coffer Dam & Mason CityWest side, Coffer Dam - Coulee Dam - Wn1900West side, Coffer Dam - Coulee Dam - WnGeneral view of Coulee Dam1900General view of Coulee DamExcavation work on west side for Coulee Dam1900Excavation work on west side for Coulee Dam
1910s–1930snothing 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
1940s2 items
Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia river, Washington1941Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia river, WashingtonGrand Coulee Dam on the Columbia river, Washington1941Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia river, Washington
1950s–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
Today5 recent
Coulee Dam, WA from Crown Point, looking south2016Coulee Dam, WA from Crown Point, looking southCoulee Dam, WA from Crown Point, looking south2016Coulee Dam, WA from Crown Point, looking southUntitled photo2013Untitled photoCity of2007City ofLARO 27212005LARO 2721
On the map

Coulee Dam on the map, 1948 to 1989

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

Coulee Dam on the 1948 USGS mapCoulee Dam on the 1950 USGS mapCoulee Dam on the 1989 USGS map1948Grand Coulee Dam 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 Coulee Dam.

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.

Coulee's Dam - Wn. Coffer Dam
Retake this viewCoulee's Dam - Wn. Coffer Dam, 1900

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Coulee Dam

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Grand Coulee Bridge
Grand Coulee Bridge
Structures
Grand Coulee BridgeStructure

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

People over time

Coulee Dam, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001960198020002020Peak: 1,425

Between 1,044 and 1,425 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Coulee Dam’s post office has been open since 1934. Another post office, Mason City, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Coulee Dam
1934–today
Mason City
1934–1943
19301980today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Mason City

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

Help out

Finish Coulee Dam’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCoulee's Dam - Wn. Coffer Dam: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Coulee Dam’s history

What year was Coulee Dam founded?

In 1933, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Coulee Dam’s post office opened in 1934, and the census of 1960 counted 1,344 people here.

How does Coulee Dam rank for history?

Coulee Dam is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns. 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 Coulee Dam?

One place: the Grand Coulee Bridge (listed 1982).

How old are the homes in Coulee Dam?

35% of Coulee Dam’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.8 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1953.

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 (5), the Library of Congress (7), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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) 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.