The Entiat post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 420 in 19502020 census: 1,326131 years
How did Entiat get its name?
The name "Entiat" refers to the indigenous Entiat people, whose name comes from the Moses-Columbian Salishan word /nt'yátkʷ/,, "place of grassy water", from /na-/, "place", /st'íyaʔ/, "tall grass, hay", and /-atkʷ/, "water".
How historic is Entiat?
C+
More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Entiat is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Entiat’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 Entiat’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 (±12.1 points). 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 Entiat’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Columbia River Chinook Indians settled the Entiat Valley in the 1800s. Chief Shil-how-Saskt (Silico Saska) selected the congruence of the Columbia and Entiat rivers as the place for his camp.
The Albert Long Museum in Entiat opened in 1980, in one of only two buildings (built 1895) that survived the opening of Rocky Reach Dam. It houses historical items from local logging and fruit industries.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Entiat. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1968Entiat 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 Entiat.
People over time
Entiat, census by census
Grew from 420 people in 1950 to 1,326 in 2020, 3 times over.
8 censuses, 1950–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Entiat’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Entiat’s history
What year was Entiat founded?
The Entiat post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Entiat rank for history?
Entiat is more historic than 44% 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 Entiat?
24% of Entiat’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±12.1 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1986.
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 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.
