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History · Hartline

Hartline’s post office opened in 1890, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Hartline School. Below: maps from 1909 on and the census since 1910.

1890first post office
1on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Hartline began

When was Hartline founded?

1890

The Hartline post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 237 in 19102020 census: 180136 years
Founding year: the first Hartline post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Hartline’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 Hartline are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Hartline’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 282 in 1920; 180 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hartline’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hartline’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 Hartline came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hartline.

Read it all →

Hartline was named for early settler John Hartline. It was officially incorporated on March 6, 1907.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Hartline, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 282

Peaked at 282 in 1920; 180 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Timeline

Hartline, 1890 to 1953

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890Post officeThe Hartline post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 282
  5. 1922BuiltHartline School is built
  6. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Hartline, decade by decade

Today19 recent
Hartline, Washington2007Hartline, WashingtonHartline, Washington2007Hartline, WashingtonHartline, Washington2007Hartline, WashingtonHartline, Washington2007Hartline, WashingtonHartline, Washington2007Hartline, WashingtonHartline, Washington2007Hartline, WashingtonHartline, Washington2007Hartline, WashingtonHartline, Washington2007Hartline, WashingtonHartline, Washington2007Hartline, WashingtonHartline, Washington2007Hartline, WashingtonHartline, Washington2007Hartline, WashingtonHartline, Washington2007Hartline, WashingtonHartline, Washington2007Hartline, WashingtonHartline, Washington2007Hartline, WashingtonHartline, Washington2007Hartline, WashingtonHartline, Washington2007Hartline, WashingtonHartline, Washington2007Hartline, WashingtonHartline, Washington2007Hartline, WashingtonHartline, Washington2007Hartline, Washington
On the map

Hartline on the map, 1953 to 1968

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

Hartline on the 1953 USGS mapHartline on the 1968 USGS map1953Ritzville sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hartline.

Every building

Hartline, building by building, 1909

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 sheet.

Hartline fire insurance map, 1909, sheet 11909Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

On the National Register

1 historic place in Hartline

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
2010
Hartline School
Hartline School, built 1922
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival1
Hartline SchoolColonial Revival · Built 1922

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

Questions about Hartline’s history

What year was Hartline founded?

The Hartline post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Hartline?

One place: the Hartline School (listed 2010).

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 Wikimedia Commons (19), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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 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.