On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lake Forest Park is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #107 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lake Forest Park’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 Lake Forest Park’s 1.5 sits near the middle of its state (63% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1912.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 points).
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 Lake Forest Park’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lake Forest Park was founded in 1912 by Ole Hanson as one of the Seattle area's first planned communities. Envisioned as a picturesque retreat for professionals, the developers planned roads and lots in strict consideration for natural landmarks. The original prospectus for lot sales declared:
…the strict fiat has gone forth that all the natural beauty must be preserved; that no tree must unwittingly be cut down; that the natural wild flowers must remain; that the streams, the springs, the lake front, the nodding willows, the stately cedar, the majestic fir, the quivering cypress and the homelike maple and all the flora and fauna with which Nature has blessed this lakeshore, must not be defiled by the hand of man.
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.
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 Lake Forest Park. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1953Edmonds East 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 Lake Forest Park.
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 viewLogs and railroad at Lake Forest Park, ca. 1902, c. 1902
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Lake Forest Park’s page.
In 1912, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1970 counted 2,530 people here.
How does Lake Forest Park rank for history?
Lake Forest Park is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #107 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 Lake Forest Park?
One place: the Harry Vanderbilt Wurdemann House (listed 1990).
How old are the homes in Lake Forest Park?
12% of Lake Forest Park’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1968.
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 (9), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
2025
2021
2013
2013
2011
2011
2011
