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Grand Mound town signPhoto: Adam Peterson · CC BY-SA 4.0
DHistory
History · Grand Mound

Grand Mound dates to 1851

More historic than 12% of U.S. towns · #214 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

Most of Grand Mound was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: maps from 1941 on and the census since 1990.

1851founded
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Adam Peterson · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Grand Mound began, and where its name came from

When was Grand Mound founded?

1851

Grand Mound dates its founding to 1851 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1990.

First census: 1,394 in 19902020 census: 3,301175 years

How did Grand Mound get its name?

Grand Mound was named and founded by Jotham Weeks Goodell, father of Phoebe Judson, in 1851.

How historic is Grand Mound?

D

More historic than 12% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1854. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Grand Mound’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Grand Mound is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #214 of 285 in Washington. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Grand Mound’s overall grade.
Founding era1851, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±1.0) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%D−National 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 12%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 25%

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 Grand Mound’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 C−. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1851.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Grand Mound’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 Grand Mound are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Grand Mound’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Grand Mound’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
The story

How Grand Mound came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Grand Mound.

Read it all →

Prior to European colonization, the Grand Mound Prairie was home to the Upper Chehalis (q̓ʷay̓áyiɬq̓) people. A large settlement called aqáygt (meaning "long prairie" in the Upper Chehalis language) was located where Grand Mound is today, but settlers burned and razed it after a smallpox outbreak caused by contact with Europeans killed hundreds of indigenous people in the area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Grand Mound in 1914

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

James Biles built the first tannery on Scatter Creek, north of the Columbia River. L. D. Durgan and A. Gangloff started the first fruit nursery ; John Guynnup, a Mexican war veteran, started the first brick kiln at Grand Mound, and in 1858 a I\Ir. Armstrong built the first sawmill on the Chehalis R…
Early history of Thurston County, Washington1914 · page 232Read the page →
Read the text

James Biles built the first tannery on Scatter Creek, north of the Columbia River. L. D. Durgan and A. Gangloff started the first fruit nursery ; John Guynnup, a Mexican war veteran, started the first brick kiln at Grand Mound, and in 1858 a I\Ir. Armstrong built the first sawmill on the Chehalis River, locating a little below the present town of Oakville.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In 1852, William King left his young wife, Caroline, in their Michigan home, and crossed the plains with the customary ox teams. Arriving in this section, the summer was spent at Grand Mound Prairie, looking for a place of permanent location. In the spring of 1858, Mr. King decided to take up a don…
Early history of Thurston County, Washington1914 · page 180Read the page →
Read the text

In 1852, William King left his young wife, Caroline, in their Michigan home, and crossed the plains with the customary ox teams. Arriving in this section, the summer was spent at Grand Mound Prairie, looking for a place of permanent location. In the spring of 1858, Mr. King decided to take up a donation claim in Cowlitz County, and selected a site just above the town of Kelso on the Cowlitz River. For a couple of years Mr.

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

Grand Mound, 1851 to 1955

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851
    FoundingGrand Mound is established
  3. 1854Post officeThe Grand Mound post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1941On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1955Post officeThe Grand Mound post office closes
By decade

Grand Mound, decade by decade

Today13 recent
Gt Wolf Lodge (8-24-25) 78172025Gt Wolf Lodge (8-24-25) 7817Gt Wolf Lodge (8-24-25) 78162025Gt Wolf Lodge (8-24-25) 7816Gt Wolf Lodge (8-24-25) (8-24-25) 78152025Gt Wolf Lodge (8-24-25) (8-24-25) 7815Scattercreek lizard2015Scattercreek lizardScattercreek garrydrought2015Scattercreek garrydroughtGrandmound oregontrail2015Grandmound oregontrailGrand Mound town sign2015Grand Mound town signForthenness2015ForthennessForthenness layout2015Forthenness layoutScattercreek burned2014Scattercreek burnedScattercreeknorthsite2011ScattercreeknorthsiteScattercreek whitemorph or death2011Scattercreek whitemorph or deathScattercreek camassia2011Scattercreek camassia
On the map

Grand Mound on the map, 1941 to 1986

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

Grand Mound on the 1941 USGS mapGrand Mound on the 1953 USGS mapGrand Mound on the 1986 USGS map1941Gate 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 Grand Mound.

People over time

Grand Mound, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,500200020203,301

Grew from 1,394 people in 1990 to 3,301 in 2020.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Grand Mound

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

See all →
R
Rachel CorrieAmerican anti-war and human rights activist · b. 1979
Merce CunninghamAmerican dancer and choreographer · b. 1919
Kasey KellerAmerican soccer player · b. 1969
Eloise MumfordAmerican actress · b. 1986
Ralph TownerAmerican musician · b. 1940
Trevor StinesAmerican actor · b. 1996
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Grand Mound had its own post office from 1854 to 1955.

Grand Mound
1854–1955
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Essex
1cemetery inside Grand Mound
Grand Mound

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Rochester5 historic placesBFords PrairieIts storyC−

Questions about Grand Mound’s history

What year was Grand Mound founded?

In 1851, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Grand Mound’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1990 counted 1,394 people here.

How does Grand Mound rank for history?

Grand Mound is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #214 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 Grand Mound?

0.0% of Grand Mound’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1992.

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 (13), Wikipedia, 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.