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B+History
History · Goldendale

Goldendale’s post office opened in 1872, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 73% of U.S. towns · #22 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Charles Newell House, the Goldendale Free Public Library and the Klickitat County Courthouse. Below: 15 old photos and papers, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1880.

1872first post office
3on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
15old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Goldendale’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Goldendale began

When was Goldendale founded?

1872

The Goldendale post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 545 in 18802020 census: 3,453154 years

How historic is Goldendale?

B+

More historic than 73% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Goldendale’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Goldendale is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns, #22 of 285 in Washington. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Goldendale’s overall grade.
Founding era1872, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194025.5% of homes (±10.1) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register3 listings, 8.6 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 73%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 93%

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 Goldendale’s 8.6 sits above most of its state (83% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.1 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 Goldendale’s past

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

Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1889 to 1922, drew every building in Goldendale.A town in old photos15 old photos, postcards and papers, 1900–1939.
★ What stands out · Every building

Goldendale, building by building, 1889–1922

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Goldendale fire insurance map, 1889, sheet 21889Sheet 2 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Goldendale, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1920s5 items
Unidentified family portrait of man, woman, and small girl, Goldendale, Washington, ca. 1900c. 1900Unidentified family portrait of man, woman, and small…Joseph Kellogg at Goldendale circa 19081908Joseph Kellogg at Goldendale circa 1908Andrew Bolon marker outside1918Andrew Bolon marker outsideAndrew Bolon marker1918Andrew Bolon markerStonehenge Monument, Goldendale, Washington, n.dc. 1929Stonehenge Monument, Goldendale, Washington, n.d
1930s10 items
Farm Security Administration: Farm hand in Goldendale, Washington1936Farm Security Administration: Farm hand in Goldendale…Farm hand, Goldendale, Washington, 8b27980a1936Farm hand, Goldendale, Washington, 8b27980aFarm hand. Goldendale, Washington1936Farm hand. Goldendale, WashingtonLoading hay. Goldendale, Washington1936Loading hay. Goldendale, WashingtonStacking alfalfa hay. Goldendale, Washington1936Stacking alfalfa hay. Goldendale, WashingtonLoading a hay wagon. Goldendale, Washington1936Loading a hay wagon. Goldendale, WashingtonFarm hands loading hay wagon. Goldendale, Washington1936Farm hands loading hay wagon. Goldendale, WashingtonOperating a hay derrick near Goldendale, Washington1936Operating a hay derrick near Goldendale, WashingtonWashington, Klickitat County, near Goldendale, on U.S. 97. Abandoned farm in wheat country1939Washington, Klickitat County, near Goldendale, on U.S…Washington, Klickitat County, near Goldendale. Wheat country, abandoned farm in foreground, occupied farm beyond. Heard…1939Washington, Klickitat County, near Goldendale. Wheat …
1940s–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
Today2 recent
Goldendale WA street scenery 22009Goldendale WA street scenery 2Goldendale WA aerial2008Goldendale WA aerial
The story

How Goldendale came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Goldendale.

Read it all →

In 1859 the town was given its name by the early homesteader John Golden, a Pennsylvania-born farmer who settled with his wife from Oregon. His daughter's home at Columbus Street and Collins Street remains standing in downtown Goldendale. The town was designated as the county seat of Klickitat County in 1878. Goldendale was officially incorporated on November 14, 1879. Much of the young town, including the county courthouse, was destroyed in a devastating fire on May 13, 1888.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Goldendale, 1872 to 2004

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Goldendale post office opens
  3. 1891BuiltCharles Newell House is built
  4. 1894Born hereAlan W. Jones is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900In the archiveUnidentified family portrait of man, woman, and small girl, Goldendale, Washington, ca. 1…
  7. 1918In the archiveAndrew Bolon marker outside
  8. 1925Born hereJames Ronald Warren is born here
  9. 1929In the archiveStonehenge Monument, Goldendale, Washington, n.d
  10. 1936In the archiveFarm Security Administration: Farm hand in Goldendale, Washington
  11. 1949Born hereBill C. Bellamy is born here
  12. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 21st century
  14. 2004Born hereColston Loveland is born here
On the map

Goldendale on the map, 1957 to 1983

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

Goldendale on the 1957 USGS mapGoldendale on the 1983 USGS map1957Goldendale 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 Goldendale.

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.

Unidentified family portrait of man, woman, and small girl, Goldendale, Washington, ca. 1900
Retake this viewUnidentified family portrait of man, woman, and small girl, Goldendale, Washington, ca. 1900, c. 1900

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Goldendale

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Charles Newell House
Charles Newell House, built 1891Goldendale Free Public LibraryKlickitat County Courthouse
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Stick Style1
Charles Newell HouseStick Style · Built 1891
Goldendale Free Public LibraryBuilding
All 3 listings
Klickitat County CourthouseBuilding · listed 2014

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Goldendale, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,760

Between 545 and 3,760 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Goldendale

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Colston LovelandAmerican football player · b. 2004
Alan W. JonesUS Army major general · b. 1894
J
James Ronald WarrenRecipient of the Purple Heart medal · b. 1925
B
Bill C. BellamyAmerican politician · b. 1949
W
Walter Carl Wann, Jr.American soldier; recipient of the Silver Star · b. 1921
P
Porter LainhartAmerican football player · b. 1907
Help out

Finish Goldendale’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewUnidentified family portrait of man, wo…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Goldendale’s history

What year was Goldendale founded?

The Goldendale post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Goldendale rank for history?

Goldendale is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns, #22 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 Goldendale?

Three places: the Charles Newell House (listed 1977), the Goldendale Free Public Library (1982) and the Klickitat County Courthouse (2014).

How old are the homes in Goldendale?

26% of Goldendale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.1 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1967.

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 (9), the Library of Congress (8), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.