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C−History
History · Forks

Forks’ post office opened in 1884

More historic than 21% of U.S. towns · #175 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

Most of Forks was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1939 on, and the census since 1950.

1884first post office
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Forks’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Forks began

When was Forks founded?

1884

The Forks post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1945.

First census: 1,120 in 19502020 census: 3,335142 years

How historic is Forks?

C−

More historic than 21% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Forks post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1945.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Forks’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Forks is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #175 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 Forks’ overall grade.
Founding era1884, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19404.9% of homes (±3.4) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical WA town 0.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 21%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 39%

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 Forks’ 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 is a Census survey estimate (±3.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1945.

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 Forks’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages7 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Forks’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Forks’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewForks Independent Order of Odd Fellows …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Forks’s post office has been open since 1884.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Alder Grove Mobile Home ParkForks Mobile Home ParkMarietta Mobile Home CourtMuralts Mobile Home ParkRain Forest Mobile Home ParkWasankaris Mobile Home ParkWillow Place Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Campbell Quarrymine
1cemetery inside Forks
Forks

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Forks came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Forks.

Read it all →

Forks was once inhabited by the Quileute Native American tribe, before they ceded their territory. In 1889, a reservation was created near Forks; that same year the village was burnt down by settler Daniel Pullen. Forks is 12 miles (19 km) from tribal burning areas that the tribes used to regenerate young ferns. The phrase "prairie upstream" from the Quileute language was translated and became the name Forks Prairie.

ChaptersIndigenous settlementEarly settlementModern history

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Forks, 1884 to 1955

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1884Post officeThe Forks post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1917In the archiveForks Independent Order of Odd Fellows picnic, September 9, 1917 - DPLA - 824afe78b8a4298…
  5. 1939On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1955Born hereLeann Hunley is born here
By decade

Forks, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s2 items
Forks Independent Order of Odd Fellows picnic, September 9, 1917 - DPLA - 824afe78b8a4298cd9f7760bba0f88ef1917Forks Independent Order of Odd Fellows picnic, Septem…Forks Independent Order of Odd Fellows picnic, September 9, 1917 - DPLA - c7d354784645c8767dd82cfcfd5b882d1917Forks Independent Order of Odd Fellows picnic, Septem…
1920s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today16 recent
Forks Thriftway2022Forks ThriftwayForks High School2022Forks High SchoolForks Airport2022Forks AirportDowntown Forks S2022Downtown Forks SCalawah River 101 bridge2018Calawah River 101 bridgeForks 9, La Push 62014Forks 9, La Push 6Field in Forks with elk2013Field in Forks with elkTwilight signs in2010Twilight signs in"Welcome Twilight fans" in2010"Welcome Twilight fans" inForks Washington Twilight specials2009Forks Washington Twilight specials2009-0606-Forks-Twilight20092009-0606-Forks-TwilightUntitled photo2007Untitled photoForks WA2007Forks WAForks WA from south side2007Forks WA from south sideForks WA Municipal Airport2007Forks WA Municipal AirportForks WA Downtown2007Forks WA Downtown
On the map

Forks on the map, 1939 to 1981

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

Forks on the 1939 USGS mapForks on the 1957 USGS mapForks on the 1981 USGS map1939Forks 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 Forks.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Forks Independent Order of Odd Fellows picnic, September 9, 1917 - DPLA - 824afe78b8a4298cd9f7760bba0f88ef
Retake this viewForks Independent Order of Odd Fellows picnic, September 9, 1917 - DPLA - 824afe78b8a4298cd9f7760bba0f88ef, 1917

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Forks’ page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Forks, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5001960198020002020Peak: 3,532

Between 1,120 and 3,532 people in every census since 1950.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Questions about Forks’ history

What year was Forks founded?

The Forks post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1945.

How does Forks rank for history?

Forks is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #175 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 Forks?

5% of Forks’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1976.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (18), 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.