1 of Indianola’s places is on the National Register
More historic than 49% of U.S. towns · #65 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Doe-Kag-Wats. Most of Indianola was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: maps from 1953 on.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Indianola is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #65 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Indianola’s overall grade.
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 Indianola’s 2.9 sits above most of its state (69% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.7 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Indianola’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Indianola was formed on the portion of the Port Madison Indian Reservation which had been allotted to KaKue aka "Beedee" in 1886. KaKue died in December 1886 leaving no will, and his wife Tu Tue Tue was sole heir. Tu Tue Tue died four years later in 1890 leaving a brother and a sister, Tar-de-blu, and a daughter Katie. After the death of Tar-de-blu the estate was settled in 1909 leaving Chief Jacob, the son of Tar-de-blu, as sole heir. When Katie died childless in 1896 her husband Alpheus Loughrey was sole heir. Alpheus had four sons from a previous marriage and the allotment eventually passed to his sons. Alpheus was a white man who had married Katie, the daughter of KaKue and Tu-Tue-Tue. KaKue was not related to Cyrus Beede Pickrell who was an Indian agent in Suquamish from 1906 to 1916 or to Cyrus Beede who was at the time the US Indian Inspector.
Indianola is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #65 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 Indianola?
One place: the Doe-Kag-Wats (listed 2019).
How old are the homes in Indianola?
7% of Indianola’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1992.
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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
2020
2019
2008
