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B+History
History · Ilwaco

Ilwaco dates to 1851, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 72% of U.S. towns. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1909 on, and the census since 1880.

1851founded
2on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
7old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ilwaco’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Ilwaco began, and where its name came from

When was Ilwaco founded?

1851

Ilwaco dates its founding to 1851 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 85 in 18802020 census: 1,087175 years

How did Ilwaco get its name?

Ilwaco, initially given the name Unity, was first settled by Henry Feister in 1851, and was named for the Lower Chinook leader Elwahko Jim, whose indigenous name was, the son in law of Chief Comcomly.

How historic is Ilwaco?

B+

More historic than 72% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1876. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Ilwaco’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ilwaco is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ilwaco’s overall grade.
Founding era1851, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194024.7% of homes (±10.3) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register2 listings, 14.7 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 72%
NewerOlder

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 Ilwaco’s 14.7 sits above most of its state (88% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±10.3 points). 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 Ilwaco’s past

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

Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1920 and 1970, then more than doubled.
★ What stands out · People over time

Ilwaco, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20018801900192019401960198020002020787 in 1920Low: 506

Lost a third of its people between 1920 and 1970, then more than doubled.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Ilwaco came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ilwaco.

Read it all →

Ilwaco, initially given the name Unity, was first settled by Henry Feister in 1851, and was named for the Lower Chinook leader Elwahko Jim, whose indigenous name was [ʔɪlwəkʷo], the son in law of Chief Comcomly. Ilwaco was officially incorporated on December 16, 1890. A narrow gauge railway, Ilwaco Railway and Navigation Company, ran for over thirty years. Similarly to the nearby city of Astoria, Oregon, and the surrounding communities, Ilwaco historically had a significant population of Finnish immigrants.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ilwaco, 1851 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851
    FoundingIlwaco is established
  3. 1876Post officeThe Ilwaco post office opens
  4. 1880In the archiveGeneral Canby at Ilwaco ca 1880
  5. 1895In the archiveU.S. Life Saving Station, Ilwaco, Washington, ca. 1895
  6. 20th century
  7. 1938On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1950Born hereDean Takko is born here
  9. 1972In the archiveSEWER OUTFALL STILL FLOWS INTO THE COLUMBIA RIVER AT ILWACO THIS SEWAGE PLANT HAS NOT BEE…
  10. 21st century
  11. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 1,087
By decade

Ilwaco, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1890s4 items
General Canby at Ilwaco ca 18801880General Canby at Ilwaco ca 1880Steamer Olympian at Ilwaco dock1886Steamer Olympian at Ilwaco dockU.S. Life Saving Station, Ilwaco, Washington, ca. 1895c. 1895U.S. Life Saving Station, Ilwaco, Washington, ca. 1895Crowd gathered to view dead sea lion, Ilwaco, Washington, May 5, 18961896Crowd gathered to view dead sea lion, Ilwaco, Washing…
1900s–1960snothing 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
1970s3 items
SEWER OUTFALL STILL FLOWS INTO THE COLUMBIA RIVER AT ILWACO THIS SEWAGE PLANT HAS NOT BEEN IN OPERATION FOR TWO YEARS1972SEWER OUTFALL STILL FLOWS INTO THE COLUMBIA RIVER AT …NORTH JETTY, AT THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER ON THE ILWACO, WASHINGTON SIDE1973NORTH JETTY, AT THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER ON TH…WASHINGTON--ILWACO1973WASHINGTON--ILWACO
1980s–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
Today11 recent
FSEclipse8Ilwaco2015FSEclipse8IlwacoIlwaco City Hall2013Ilwaco City Hall20120522-DSC01037201220120522-DSC01037Cape Disappointment2011Cape DisappointmentCape Disappointment - panoramio (4)2011Cape Disappointment - panoramio (4)Cape Disappointment - panoramio (3)2011Cape Disappointment - panoramio (3)Cape Disappointment - panoramio (2)2011Cape Disappointment - panoramio (2)Cape Disappointment - panoramio (1)2011Cape Disappointment - panoramio (1)Colbert House2010Colbert HouseIlwaco, Washington2008Ilwaco, WashingtonIlwaco Plant2007Ilwaco Plant
On the map

Ilwaco on the map, 1938 to 1984

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

Ilwaco on the 1938 USGS mapIlwaco on the 1949 USGS mapIlwaco on the 1973 USGS mapIlwaco on the 1984 USGS map1938Cape Disappointment 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 Ilwaco.

Every building

Ilwaco, 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.

Ilwaco 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.

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.

General Canby at Ilwaco ca 1880
Retake this viewGeneral Canby at Ilwaco ca 1880, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Ilwaco

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Cape Disappointment Historic District
Colbert HouseCape Disappointment Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular1
Colbert HouseVernacular
All 2 listings
Cape Disappointment Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1975

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

Help out

Finish Ilwaco’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewGeneral Canby at Ilwaco ca 1880: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Ilwaco’s history

What year was Ilwaco founded?

In 1851, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Ilwaco’s post office opened in 1876, and the census of 1880 counted 85 people here.

How does Ilwaco rank for history?

Ilwaco is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns. 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 Ilwaco?

Two places: the Colbert House (listed 1977) and the Cape Disappointment Historic District (1975).

How old are the homes in Ilwaco?

25% of Ilwaco’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.3 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1975.

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 (18), 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 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.