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History · Grays River

Grays River’s post office opened in 1872, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Grays River Covered Bridge. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1940 on.

1872first post office
1on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Grays River’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Grays River began

When was Grays River founded?

1872

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

2020 census: 248154 years
Founding year: the first Grays River post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Grays River’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Grays River’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Grays River’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewGrays River Covered Bridge, Worrel Road…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Grays River, in brief

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

Grays River is a census-designated place (CDP) in Wahkiakum County, Washington. Grays River stands on the north bank of the lower Grays River, which flows into the Columbia River Estuary. As of the 2020 census, Grays River had a population of 248. The Grays River community is part of the Naselle-Grays River Valley School District, a K-12 school district of about 670 students. The National Register of Historic Places-listed Grays River Covered Bridge crosses the Grays River in the community. It is the only such bridge still in use in Washington.

Its first post office opened in 1872. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 263 to 248 (-6%).

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

Timeline

Grays River, 1872 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Grays River post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905BuiltGrays River Covered Bridge is built
  5. 1940On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Grays River, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Grays River Covered Bridge, Worrel Road spanning Grays RiverDate?Grays River Covered Bridge, Worrel Road spanning Gray…
On the map

Grays River on the map, 1940 to 1985

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

Grays River on the 1940 USGS mapGrays River on the 1955 USGS mapGrays River on the 1985 USGS map1940Brookfield 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 Grays River.

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.

Grays River Covered Bridge, Worrel Road spanning Grays River
Retake this viewGrays River Covered Bridge, Worrel Road spanning Grays River

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Grays River

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1971
Grays River Covered Bridge
Grays River Covered Bridge, built 1905
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Covered Bridge1
Grays River Covered BridgeCovered Bridge · Built 1905

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Grays River

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

See all →
R
Raymond CarverPenman, poet, screenwriter, novelist, prose wri… · b. 1938
Holly MadisonAmerican television personality · b. 1979
K
Karl MarlantesAmerican businessman and novelist · b. 1944
Cole EscolaAmerican comedian, actor, and playwright · b. 1986
Helen KleebAmerican actress · b. 1907
Donald MalarkeyAmerican army noncommissioned officer · b. 1921
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Deep River1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRosburgIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Grays River’s history

What year was Grays River founded?

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

What is on the National Register in Grays River?

One place: the Grays River Covered Bridge (listed 1971).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.