The Kittitas post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Kittitass (1871), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
2020 census: 1,438117 years
How historic is Kittitas?
B−
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Kittitas post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Kittitas’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kittitas is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kittitas’ 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 Kittitas’ 16.4 sits above most of its state (89% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Kittitas’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Kittitas was established in 1883 and officially incorporated on December 9, 1931. It was founded as part of the westward expansion of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. The Kittitas Yard and Depot became the center of the community of Kittitas, one of the many small, agricultural towns that sprang up along the railroad lines. The railroad linked Kittitas to other small communities and the rest of the country, providing farmers and business people a way to sell their products in other towns and cities.
Passages that mention Kittitas, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of the Yakima Valley, Washington1919 · page 585Read the page →
Read the text
In young manhood William R. Thomas worked at bridge building for railway companies and on the 27th of July, 1886, he made his way to the northwest, taking up his abode in Kittitas county, Washington, where he entered the employ of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, with which he remained for four and a half years. In 1890 he purchased a small farm, which he sold in 1893. He then purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land and that he has since added to his holdings as opportunity has offered is indicated in the fact that he is now the owner of five hundred and eighty acres nine miles northeast of Ellensburg. He also has six hundred
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties1904 · page 245Read the page →
Read the text
"The act creating the county," says Auditor Peterson, "provided that the auditor of Kittitas county should make a copy, of all that part of the Yakima records required to be kept in Kittitas county. It also provided that the settlement between the counties should be made by the auditors of the same and went on to designate how it should be made. In case they failed to agree they were to
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties1904 · page 246Read the page →
Read the text
June 16th of this year appeared the initial issue of the Kittitas Standard, a weekly newspaper, with headquarters at Ellensburg. This pioneer journal tells of numerous parties of land hunters seeking homes in the Kittitas valley in anticipation of the railroad, of a bright outlook for abundant crops, and of the fact that one hundred men had just been added to the railroad force in the canyon of the
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
Kittitas, 1871 to 1909
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Kittitas’s post office has been open since 1909. Another post office, Kittitass, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Kittitass
1871–1884
Kittitas
1909–today
18701950today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Kittitas’ history
What year was Kittitas founded?
The Kittitas post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Kittitas rank for history?
Kittitas is more historic than 54% 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 Kittitas?
One place: the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad-Kittitas Depot (listed 1992).
How old are the homes in Kittitas?
22% of Kittitas’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.5 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
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