Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Davenport

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
B−History
History · Davenport

Davenport dates to 1880, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 51% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1890 on and the census since 1890.

1880founded
0on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Robert Ashworth from Bellingham, WA., USA · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

How Davenport began

When was Davenport founded?

1880

Davenport dates its founding to 1880 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 396 in 18902020 census: 1,703146 years

How historic is Davenport?

B−

More historic than 51% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1884.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Davenport’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Davenport is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Davenport’s overall grade.
Founding era1880, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194034.4% of homes (±9.2) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%ANational RegisterNo listings counted · typical WA town 0.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 51%
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 Davenport’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (27% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.2 points). Two sources give 1880.

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 Davenport’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 Davenport are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1890 to 1930, drew every building in Davenport.Old housesHalf of Davenport’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Davenport’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Davenport’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
Every building

Davenport, building by building, 1890–1930

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.

Davenport fire insurance map, 1890, sheet 11890Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How Davenport came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Davenport.

Read it all →

Prior to European settlement, the area around what would become Davenport was home to the Lower Band of the Spokane. The location was also along a popular east-west trade route, and the spring at present day Davenport was seen as an oasis and place for rest and camping along the journey.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Davenport, 1880 to 1969

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880
    FoundingDavenport is established
  3. 1884Post officeThe Davenport post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Davenport, decade by decade

Today24 recent
Odd sign near Harrington, WA2017Odd sign near Harrington, WALincoln County courthouse, Davenport, WA2017Lincoln County courthouse, Davenport, WAGrain elevators2017Grain elevatorsFitness Lane, Davenport, WA2017Fitness Lane, Davenport, WAEdna's Drive-in, Davenport, WA2017Edna's Drive-in, Davenport, WADavenport has a Fitness Lane which includes a bike path2017Davenport has a Fitness Lane which includes a bike pa…Davenport Wa2013Davenport WaDavenport Wa. (1)2013Davenport Wa. (1)Davenport, Washington2008Davenport, WashingtonDavenport, Washington2008Davenport, WashingtonDavenport, Washington2008Davenport, WashingtonDavenport, Washington2008Davenport, WashingtonDavenport, Washington2008Davenport, WashingtonDavenport, Washington2008Davenport, WashingtonWater tower2007Water towerWater tank2007Water tankTree leaves sneaking into the jail2007Tree leaves sneaking into the jailPrison cell2007Prison cellLARO 30272005LARO 3027WAMap-doton-Davenport2004WAMap-doton-DavenportLincoln County Courthouse2004Lincoln County CourthouseLincoln County court house, Davenport, WA2003Lincoln County court house, Davenport, WAFine cafe in Davenport, WA. 20052003Fine cafe in Davenport, WA. 2005Basalt fountain sculpture, Davenport, WA2003Basalt fountain sculpture, Davenport, WA
On the map

Davenport on the map, 1969 to 1983

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

Davenport on the 1969 USGS mapDavenport on the 1983 USGS map1969Davenport 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 Davenport.

People over time

Davenport, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,8001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,734

Between 396 and 1,734 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Questions about Davenport’s history

What year was Davenport founded?

In 1880, according to Wikidata. Davenport’s post office opened in 1884, and the census of 1890 counted 396 people here.

How does Davenport rank for history?

Davenport is more historic than 51% 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.

How old are the homes in Davenport?

34% of Davenport’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.2 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1956.

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 (24), 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.