Fox Island’s post office opened in 1890, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 48% of U.S. towns · #68 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Fox Island was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Its Register listing is the Fox Island School. Below: maps from 1942 on.
The Fox Island post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Sylvan (1891) and Hope (1910), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 3,921136 years
How historic is Fox Island?
B−
More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Fox Island post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Fox Island’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fox Island is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #68 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fox Island’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 Fox Island’s 5.9 sits above most of its state (77% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±4.5 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 Fox Island’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The island was part of the territory of the Steilacoom people, a Coast Salish tribe.
In 1792, during the Vancouver Expedition, Peter Puget led an exploration party through southern Puget Sound. After an encounter with local Native tribes ended with Puget ordering a musket fired as warning, the exploration party retreated to Fox Island, where they made camp for the night.
The Fox Island post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Fox Island rank for history?
Fox Island is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #68 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 Fox Island?
One place: the Fox Island School (listed 1987).
How old are the homes in Fox Island?
8% of Fox Island’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1990.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
