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D−History
History · Frederickson

Frederickson’s post office opened in 1920

More historic than 4% of U.S. towns · #266 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

Most of Frederickson was built recently: 0.7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. Below: maps from 1941 on and the census since 1990.

1920first post office
0on the National Register
0.7%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Frederickson began

When was Frederickson founded?

1920

The Frederickson post office opened in 1920, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 3,502 in 19902020 census: 24,906106 years

How historic is Frederickson?

D−

More historic than 4% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Frederickson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Frederickson’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Frederickson is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #266 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Frederickson’s overall grade.
Founding era1920, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19400.7% of homes (±0.7) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%DNational 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 4%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 7%

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 Frederickson’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 D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. 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 Frederickson’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 Frederickson are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages5 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Frederickson’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Frederickson’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Frederickson had its own post office from 1920 to 1931.

Frederickson
1920–1931
19201970today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BerkeleyCanyon Glen Mobile Home ParkCascade Green Mobile Home ParkFir Meadows Mobile Home ParkWoodland Estates Mobile Home Park

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

The story so far

Frederickson, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Frederickson yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Frederickson is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 24,906 at the 2020 census, and was estimated at 24,219 in 2023.

Its first post office opened in 1920. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 18,719 to 24,906 (+33%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Frederickson in 1927

Passages that mention Frederickson, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Loren Greenlaw received his educational training in the old Clover Creek school and then went to work in sawmills and logging camps, becoming familiar with every phase of the lumber business. For the past ten years he has been foreman for the Cascade Timber Company at Frederickson. In 1923 Mr. Gree…
History of Pierce County Washington1927 · page 393Read the page →
Read the text

Loren Greenlaw received his educational training in the old Clover Creek school and then went to work in sawmills and logging camps, becoming familiar with every phase of the lumber business. For the past ten years he has been foreman for the Cascade Timber Company at Frederickson. In 1923 Mr. Greenlaw bought out the interests of the other heirs in the old Greenlaw homestead on section 31, township 19, range 4, and now has twenty-five acres of the land in cultivation, the remainder of the land being in pasture and woods. He keeps fifteen good grade Holstein cows and eight head of young cattle, while his principal field crops are hay and grain. Mrs.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Frederickson, 1920 to 1941

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1920Post officeThe Frederickson post office opens
  3. 1931Post officeThe Frederickson post office closes
  4. 1941On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Frederickson, decade by decade

Today14 recent
Xfinity 18792024Xfinity 1879Sushi Wok, Kidstrong, RCPT 18702024Sushi Wok, Kidstrong, RCPT 1870Subway 18712024Subway 1871Safeway Gas 18812024Safeway Gas 1881Safeway 18782024Safeway 1878Pho n Tofu 18752024Pho n Tofu 1875MultiCare Frederickson Clinic 18762024MultiCare Frederickson Clinic 1876Gt Clips, Postal Pros, Pet Pros, Xfinity 18772024Gt Clips, Postal Pros, Pet Pros, Xfinity 1877F Town Center 18672024F Town Center 1867Canyon Crossing 18832024Canyon Crossing 1883Canyon Crossing 18692024Canyon Crossing 1869Canyon Crossing 18682024Canyon Crossing 1868CCrossing panorama2024CCrossing panoramaApple T & Ayothaya Thai 18852024Apple T & Ayothaya Thai 1885
On the map

Frederickson on the map, 1941 to 1997

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

Frederickson on the 1941 USGS mapFrederickson on the 1959 USGS mapFrederickson on the 1968 USGS mapFrederickson on the 1997 USGS map1941Tacoma South 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 Frederickson.

People over time

Frederickson, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,0002000202024,906

Grew from 3,502 people in 1990 to 24,906 in 2020, 7 times over.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Frederickson

Nobody well known was born in Frederickson itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Sarah ButlerAmerican actress · b. 1985
G
George HuntAmerican rower · b. 1916
Michelle FrenchAmerican soccer player · b. 1977
Jim TurnerAmerican politician · b. 1946
Jermaine KearseAmerican football player · b. 1990
Kelly Joe PhelpsAmerican blues musician and songwriter · b. 1959
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

SpanawayIts storyC−Clover CreekIts storyC−GrahamIts storyDSouth HillIts storyDElk PlainIts storyDParkland4 historic placesB−

Questions about Frederickson’s history

What year was Frederickson founded?

The Frederickson post office opened in 1920, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Frederickson rank for history?

Frederickson is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #266 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 Frederickson?

0.7% of Frederickson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 2003.

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 (14), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.