Kennewick’s post office opened in 1885, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 29% of U.S. towns · #135 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Kennewick was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Its Register listing is the Kennewick Fruit & Produce Company Building. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: the first Kennewick post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1904.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Kennewick’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kennewick is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #135 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kennewick’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 Kennewick’s 0.1 sits near the middle of its state (54% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1904.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Kennewick’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Native Americans populated the area around modern-day Kennewick for millennia before being discovered and settled by European descendants. These inhabitants consisted of people from the Umatilla, Wanapum, Nez Perce, and Yakama tribes. Kennewick's low elevation helped to moderate winter temperatures. On top of this, the riverside location made salmon and other river fish easily accessible. By the 19th century, people lived in and between two major camps in the area. These were located near present-day Sacajawea State Park in Pasco and Columbia Point in Richland. Lewis and Clark noted that there were many people living in the area when they passed through in 1805 and 1806. The map produced following their journey marks two significant villages in the area - Wollawollah and Selloatpallah. These had approximate populations of 2,600 and 3,000 respectively.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kennewick. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1964Kennewick sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Kennewick.
Every building
Kennewick, building by building, 1905–1909
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 year, then a sheet.
1905Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
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.
Retake this viewTri-cities 1917, 1917
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Kennewick’s page.
The Kennewick post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1904.
How does Kennewick rank for history?
Kennewick is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #135 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 Kennewick?
One place: the Kennewick Fruit & Produce Company Building (listed 2025).
How old are the homes in Kennewick?
3% of Kennewick’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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