Gig Harbor’s post office opened in 1885, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns · #106 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Midway School and the Skansie, Andrew & Bertha, Net Shed and House. Most of Gig Harbor was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1942 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: the first Gig Harbor post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1946.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Gig Harbor’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gig Harbor is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #106 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gig Harbor’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 Gig Harbor’s 2.4 sits above most of its state (67% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±1.2 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1946.
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 Gig Harbor’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Gig Harbor is the traditional homeland of S'Homamish or Homamish (Lushootseed: sxʷəbabš), an ancestral band of the modern-day Puyallup people. The area is known in their Lushootseed language as txʷaalqəɬ, meaning "place where game exists". There was a Puyallup settlement at the mouth of the harbor that included six houses, and a large longhouse. This village existed until the late 19th century, with the longhouse finally being torn down by settlers in 1915. The band was later relocated to the Puyallup Indian Reservation.
warehouse and receiving station at Gig Harbor, Mr. Swanson was employed as manager and superintendent of construction. He drew the plans for the new building, the first unit of which was fifty by one hundred feet in size, and which is substantially built, so that another story may be safely added if desired. Electricity is employed in the handling of feed, hay, straw and other supplies, all of which can be unloaded and outbound shipments loaded right from the building, which is located on the wharf. The association supplies its members with necessary feeds, hay, straw, flour and other supplies at a small margin over cost and handling charges. The new plant
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
Gig Harbor, 1885 to 1991
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The Gig Harbor post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1946.
How does Gig Harbor rank for history?
Gig Harbor is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #106 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 Gig Harbor?
Two places: the Midway School (listed 1987) and the Skansie, Andrew & Bertha, Net Shed and House (2011).
How old are the homes in Gig Harbor?
2% of Gig Harbor’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1998.
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 (10), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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), 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.
1918
1918
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