More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #180 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Des Moines was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: maps from 1949 on and the census since 1890.
The Des Moines post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Redondo (1904) and Zenith (1906), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 212 in 18902020 census: 32,888137 years
How historic is Des Moines?
C−
More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Des Moines post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Des Moines’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Des Moines is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #180 of 285 in Washington. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Des Moines’ overall grade.
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 Des Moines’ 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 still be C−. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Des Moines’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
What was to become Des Moines was first explored by Europeans on May 26, 1792, during the exploration of British naval Captain George Vancouver on his flagship HMS Discovery. The first Americans to visit the area were part of Charles Wilkes' Expedition.
The first known settler was John Moore, who probably arrived circa 1867. His homestead claim certificate (#285) was granted on July 2, 1872.
The Des Moines post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Des Moines rank for history?
Des Moines is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #180 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.
How old are the homes in Des Moines?
4% of Des Moines’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1974.
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 (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.
2016
