Kent’s post office opened in 1884, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns · #138 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Kent was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Its Register listing is the Erick Gustave Sanders Mansion. Below: maps from 1890 on and the census since 1890.
The Kent post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1890. Five smaller post offices, White River (1867), Spring Brook (1879) and O'brien (1890), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 853 in 18902020 census: 136,588142 years
How historic is Kent?
C
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Kent post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1890.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Kent’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kent is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #138 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 Kent’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Kent ranks #315 on History.
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 Kent’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.
Newer cities are common at Kent’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
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’s 1890 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Kent’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Kent’s post office has been open since 1884. Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
White River
1867–1890
Spring Brook
1879–1881
Kent
1884–today
O'brien
1890–1920
Starlake
1892–1898
Midway
1938–1965
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Benson Village Mobile Home ParkBonel Mobile ManorCanyon View Mobile Home ParkCascade Mobile VillaCircle K Mobile Home ParkEast HillEast Hill Estates Mobile Home ParkHorseshoe Acres Mobile Home ParkLake Meridian Estates Mobile Home ParkMaple Lane Mobile Home CourtMar A Villa Mobile Home ParkMidwayMidway Mobile MansionsO'BrienPantera Lago Estates Mobile Home ParkParadise Mobile Home ParkShafrans Mobile EstateSoos Creek Mobile Home EstatesStar LakeValley Mobile ManorWalnut Grove Mobile Home ParkWest Hill Mobile ManorWillo Vista Mobile Estates
Gone or out of use
Boeing-Kent Heliportairport
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Kent
Hillcrest Burial ParkSaar PioneerSuise Creek
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Kent’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Kent’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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.
1890Sheet 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.
The Kent area was first permanently settled by European Americans in the 1850s along the banks of what was then the White River. The first settler was Samuel Russell, who sailed the White and Duwamish Rivers until he claimed a plot of land southeast of modern-day downtown Kent in the spring of 1853. Russell was followed by several other settlers, who quickly staked claims around the area. The settlements were originally known as "White River" and later the town was called "Titusville" after an early settler by the name of James Henry Titus. (There is still a "Titusville Station" sign on Gowe Street near First Avenue.)
Passages that mention Kent, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Washington and Kent counties, Rhode Island, including their early settlement and progress to the present time1889 · page 894Read the page →
Read the text
These four towns comprise the territory of Kent county. In 1686 the long contentious dispute between Connecticut and Rhode Island was begun under Arnold's administration, but in 1689 the question in point of jurisdiction, etc., was settled, and the government of the colony again assumed its sway as before.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Washington and Kent counties, Rhode Island, including their early settlement and progress to the present time1889 · page 95Read the page →
Read the text
In the year 1828 most of the towns throughout the state had three or more school houses, most of which had been built by ■subscription. Of the towns in Washington and Kent counties. West Greenwich had two school houses, Richmond two, North Kingstown the Elam Academy and one school house besides, Exeter three school houses. East Greenwich an academy and in
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON AND KENT COUNTIES, RHODE SLAND1889 · page 95Read the page →
Read the text
In the year 1828 most of the towns throughout the state had three or more school houses, most of which had been built by subscription. Of the towns in Washington and Kent counties, West Greenwich had two school houses, Richmond two, North Kingstown the Elam Academy and one school house besides, Exeter three school houses, East Greenwich an academy and in
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Kent, 1867 to 1989
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Kent post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1890.
How does Kent rank for history?
Kent is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #138 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 Kent?
One place: the Erick Gustave Sanders Mansion (listed 1986).
How old are the homes in Kent?
2% of Kent’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1985.
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 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
