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History · Edison

Edison’s post office opened in 1878, and 45% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1918 on and the census since 2000.

1878first post office
0on the National Register
45%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Edison began

When was Edison founded?

1878

The Edison post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 133 in 20002020 census: 240148 years
Founding year: the first Edison post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Edison’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 Edison are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19184 editions of the USGS map, 1918 to 1998. Watch Edison change.Old housesHalf of Edison’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Edison’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Edison’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
On the map

Edison on the map, 1918 to 1998

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

Edison on the 1918 USGS mapEdison on the 1954 USGS mapEdison on the 1968 USGS mapEdison on the 1998 USGS map1918Samish Lake 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 Edison.

The story

How Edison came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Edison.

Read it all →

First settled in 1869 by Ben Samson, it was later named for famous inventor Thomas Alva Edison (1847–1931), with his inventing productive laboratories in Menlo Park, New Jersey, East Orange, New Jersey, and Fort Myers, Florida.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Edison, 1878 to 1983

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878Post officeThe Edison post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901Post officeThe Bow post office opens
  5. 1918On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1983Post officeThe Edison post office closes
By decade

Edison, decade by decade

Today18 recent
Edison, WA - Farm to Market Road 012013Edison, WA - Farm to Market Road 01Edison, WA - Farm to Market Bakery 012013Edison, WA - Farm to Market Bakery 01Edison, WA - Edison Wildcats sign 012013Edison, WA - Edison Wildcats sign 01Edison, WA - Edison Slough 022013Edison, WA - Edison Slough 02Edison, WA - Edison Slough 012013Edison, WA - Edison Slough 01Edison, WA - Edison Elementary 012013Edison, WA - Edison Elementary 01Edison, WA - Edison Cafe 022013Edison, WA - Edison Cafe 02Edison, WA - Edison Cafe 012013Edison, WA - Edison Cafe 01Edison, WA - Duluth Timber Company 012013Edison, WA - Duluth Timber Company 01Edison, WA - BreadFarm 012013Edison, WA - BreadFarm 01Edison, WA - 14078 McTaggart Ave 012013Edison, WA - 14078 McTaggart Ave 01Edison, WA - 14064 McTaggart Ave 022013Edison, WA - 14064 McTaggart Ave 02Edison, WA - 14064 McTaggart Ave 012013Edison, WA - 14064 McTaggart Ave 01Edison, WA - The Lucky Dumpster (2008-05-30) 22008Edison, WA - The Lucky Dumpster (2008-05-30) 2Edison, WA - The Lucky Dumpster (2008-05-30) 12008Edison, WA - The Lucky Dumpster (2008-05-30) 1Edison, WA - Longhorn Saloon (2008-05-30)2008Edison, WA - Longhorn Saloon (2008-05-30)Edison, WA - Breadfarm (2008-05-30)2008Edison, WA - Breadfarm (2008-05-30)Edison in Skagit County before school was rebuilt2007Edison in Skagit County before school was rebuilt
People over time

Edison, census by census

010020020002020Peak: 240

Between 133 and 240 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Edison had its own post office from 1878 to 1983.

Edison
1878–1983
Bow
1901–today
18701950today

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.

BowIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Edison’s history

What year was Edison founded?

The Edison post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (18), Wikipedia, 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.