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CHistory
History · Covington

Covington’s post office opened in 1891, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 34% of U.S. towns · #115 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

Most of Covington was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 6 buildings. Below: maps from 1949 on and the census since 2000.

1891first post office
1on the National Register
0.9%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Covington began

When was Covington founded?

1891

The Covington post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1997.

First census: 13,783 in 20002020 census: 20,777135 years

How historic is Covington?

C

More historic than 34% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Covington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1997.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Covington’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Covington is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #115 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Covington’s overall grade.
Founding era1891, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.9% of homes (±0.9) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 6 historic buildings, 2.8 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 34%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 60%

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 Covington’s 2.8 sits above most of its state (69% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1997.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Covington’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 Covington are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Covington’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Covington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Covington.

Read it all →

Covington was founded in 1900 at a Northern Pacific Railway stop and grew into a suburban bedroom community in the late 20th century. It was incorporated as a city on August 31, 1997.

The area presently known as Covington was originally known as Jenkins Prairie. Between 1899 and 1900, the Northern Pacific Railway built the Palmer Cutoff between Auburn and Palmer to improve the company's primary east–west rail route across Stampede Pass. Richard Covington, a surveyor for the Northern Pacific, worked out of Fort Vancouver establishing the line from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Auburn.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Covington, 1891 to 1996

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891Post officeThe Covington post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903Post officeThe Covington post office closes
  5. 1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1996Born hereMariah Lee is born here
By decade

Covington, decade by decade

Today7 recent
2022-08-20, Amazon Hub Locker - Glenda20222022-08-20, Amazon Hub Locker - GlendaCovington, WA — Covington Library (2021-08-23)2021Covington, WA — Covington Library (2021-08-23)Covington, United States Aug 13, 2020 06-59-52 PM2020Covington, United States Aug 13, 2020 06-59-52 PMCovington, United States Aug 13, 2020 06-39-59 PM2020Covington, United States Aug 13, 2020 06-39-59 PMAmazon Hub Locker - Fit (Covington, Washington), 022020Amazon Hub Locker - Fit (Covington, Washington), 02Amazon Hub Locker - Fit (Covington, Washington), 012020Amazon Hub Locker - Fit (Covington, Washington), 01Mount Rainier as seen from a Covington neighborhood2019Mount Rainier as seen from a Covington neighborhood
On the map

Covington on the map, 1949 to 1983

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

Covington on the 1949 USGS mapCovington on the 1968 USGS mapCovington on the 1973 USGS mapCovington on the 1983 USGS map1949Black Diamond 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 Covington.

On the National Register

1 listing protects 6 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
2018
Covington Electrical Substation, Bonneville Pow…
Covington Electrical Substation, Bonneville Power Administration
Districts
Covington Electrical Substation, Bonneville Power AdministrationDistrict

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

People over time

Covington, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00020002020Peak: 20,777

Between 13,783 and 20,777 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Covington had its own post office from 1891 to 1903.

Covington
1891–1903
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Meridian HeightsTimberlane

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.

Lake Morton-BerrydaleIts storyC−Kent1 historic placeCShadow LakeIts storyC−Maple Valley1 historic placeC−

Questions about Covington’s history

What year was Covington founded?

The Covington post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1997.

How does Covington rank for history?

Covington is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #115 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 Covington?

One place: the Covington Electrical Substation, Bonneville Power Administration (listed 2018).

How old are the homes in Covington?

0.9% of Covington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1994.

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), Wikidata (1), 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.