More historic than 10% of U.S. towns · #229 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Federal Way was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: maps from 1949 on and the census since 1990.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Federal Way is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns, #229 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Federal Way’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 Federal Way’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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Federal Way’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Adelaide
1886–1931
Buenna
1890–1898
Lakota
1915–1934
Mirror Lake
1944–1955
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AdelaideBelmor Mobile Home ParkBuennaCamelot Square Mobile Home ParkCharwood Mobile Home ParkCrestwood Mobile Home ParkHighline Park Mobile Home ParkKitts CornerLakotaLaurelwood Valley Mobile Home ParkMirror LakeParkwood Lane Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Evergreen Airportairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Federal Way
GeorgesGethsemane
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Federal Way’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Federal Way’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Originally a logging settlement, the area was first called "Federal Way" when a consolidated school district was established in 1929. The name derived from U.S. Route 99 (now State Route 99 or Pacific Highway South), a federally-designated highway which ran through the state and connected Seattle to Tacoma. It followed an earlier road between Fort Steilacoom and Fort Bellingham that was completed in the 1850s and later became known as Military Road. The first homestead in the area was established in 1871 by Sam Stone near modern-day Redondo and was followed by other settlers. Five existing school districts consolidated operations into School District No. 210 in 1929 and planned construction of Federal Way High School, which opened in 1930 and gave its name to the school district. The local chamber of commerce adopted the name in the early 1950s.
Federal Way is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns, #229 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 Federal Way?
1% of Federal Way’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1984.
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 Wikidata (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.
