Duvall’s post office opened in 1910, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 22% of U.S. towns · #172 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Duvall was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2000. Its Register listings are the Horatio and Laura Allen Farm and the John and Kate Dougherty Farmstead. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1917 on, and the census since 1920.
The Duvall post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1913. Another post office, Cherry Valley (1878), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 258 in 19202020 census: 8,034116 years
How historic is Duvall?
C−
More historic than 22% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Duvall post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1913.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Duvall’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Duvall is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #172 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 Duvall’s 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 Duvall’s 10.6 sits above most of its state (85% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 9 historic buildings outnumber those of 75% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1913 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Duvall’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area that became known as Duvall was historically the home of the Snoqualmie and other ancestral Tulalip Native American tribes. Following their relocation under the Treaty of Point Elliott, the area was homesteaded by veterans of the Civil War. The center of present-day town was located on a hillside homesteaded by Francis and James Duvall, loggers who arrived in 1871.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Duvall. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1953Carnation 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 Duvall.
Every building
Duvall, building by building, 1917–1930
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.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Duvall, census by census
Grew from 258 people in 1920 to 8,034 in 2020, more than tenfold.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Duvall’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and old corners
Duvall’s post office has been open since 1910. Another post office, Cherry Valley, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Cherry Valley
1878–1906
Duvall
1910–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Depot Village Mobile Home ParkDuvall Highland Mobile Home Park
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Duvall’s history
What year was Duvall founded?
The Duvall post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1913.
How does Duvall rank for history?
Duvall is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #172 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 Duvall?
Two places: the Horatio and Laura Allen Farm (listed 2002) and the John and Kate Dougherty Farmstead (2005).
How old are the homes in Duvall?
0.0% of Duvall’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 2000.
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), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
c. 1916
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