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C−History
History · Lake Stevens

Lake Stevens’ post office opened in 1916, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #187 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

Most of Lake Stevens was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Its Register listing is the Grimm House. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1941 on, and the census since 1950.

1916first post office
1on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lake Stevens’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Lake Stevens began

When was Lake Stevens founded?

1916

The Lake Stevens post office opened in 1916, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Hartford (1890), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 2,586 in 19502020 census: 35,630110 years

How historic is Lake Stevens?

C−

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Lake Stevens post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Lake Stevens’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lake Stevens is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #187 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 Stevens’ overall grade.
Founding era1916, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19403.1% of homes (±1.1) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 0.2 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 20%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 35%

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 Stevens’ 0.2 sits near the middle of its state (55% 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 D to C. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 points) is firm at this size. 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 Lake Stevens’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1950 and 1970, then grew more than tenfold.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Lake Stevens, and 8 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lake Stevens’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lake Stevens’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewLake Stevens High School, November 4, 1…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Lake Stevens, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00019601980200020202,586 in 1950Low: 1,283

Lost half of its people between 1950 and 1970, then grew more than tenfold.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lake Stevens’ Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Lake Stevens’s post office has been open since 1916. Another post office, Hartford, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hartford
1890–1953
Lake Stevens
1916–today
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Cardinal Estates Mobile Home ParkCavalero CornerFrontier Manor Mobile Home ParkGoodrich Mobile ParkHartfordLakeview Mobile Home ParkWest Lake StevensWestview Estates Mobile Home Park

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Lake Stevens came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lake Stevens.

Read it all →

Lake Stevens was named in 1859 for territorial governor Isaac Stevens and was originally listed as "Stevens Lake" on early maps. The area around the lake was used for berry gathering by the indigenous Skykomish, who also used most of the Pilchuck River basin for hunting. The first homesteads around the lake were established by emigrants in the 1880s, beginning with Joseph William Davison's 160-acre (0.65 km2) claim along the east shore filed in 1886. A two-block townsite at the northeast end of the lake named "Outing" was claimed on October 8, 1889, by Charles A. Missimer and platted the following year. The construction of the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway along the eastern side of the Pilchuck River Valley in 1889 spurred the creation of more settlements in the area. Among them were Machias in 1890, which was followed by Hartford (originally named "Ferry"), later a major junc…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Lake Stevens in 1926

Passages that mention Lake Stevens, cut from the printed page as they were published.

The large sawmill of Rucker Brothers has not been running since a disastrous fire of a year ago. This mill has been one of the big factors in the building up of the prosperous town of Lake Stevens, and residents of the vicinity are looking torward to the time when it will again resume operations. I…
History of Snohomish County, Washington, Volume I1926 · page 617Read the page →
Read the text

The large sawmill of Rucker Brothers has not been running since a disastrous fire of a year ago. This mill has been one of the big factors in the building up of the prosperous town of Lake Stevens, and residents of the vicinity are looking torward to the time when it will again resume operations. It was erected in 1907. The Odd Fellows have a lodge in Lake Stevens, Henry Leickhem being its secretary. Mrs.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A. H. Eddy, H. Dibb and William Case were the promoters of a new sash and door factory which secured a site near the new railway station. They also secured a site for a sawmill on Lake Stevens at this time. Real estate transfers for December, 1888, and January, 1889, amounted to $91,600, for the co…
History of Snohomish County, Washington, Volume I1926 · page 245Read the page →
Read the text

A. H. Eddy, H. Dibb and William Case were the promoters of a new sash and door factory which secured a site near the new railway station. They also secured a site for a sawmill on Lake Stevens at this time. Real estate transfers for December, 1888, and January, 1889, amounted to $91,600, for the county, but these figures included the sale of 1,500 acres, near Marysville, by Blackman Bros. to T. D. Stinson. February transfers were $26,150 in Snohomish and $22,000 for the balance of the county.

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

Lake Stevens, 1890 to 2020

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890Post officeThe Hartford post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1916Post officeThe Lake Stevens post office opens
  5. 1929In the archiveLake Stevens High School, November 4, 1929
  6. 1941On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1953Post officeThe Hartford post office closes
  8. 1997Born hereJacob Eason is born here
  9. 21st century
  10. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 35,630
By decade

Lake Stevens, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s2 items
Lake Stevens High School, November 4, 19291929Lake Stevens High School, November 4, 1929Students outside of the Lake Stevens High School, November 4, 19291929Students outside of the Lake Stevens High School, Nov…
1930s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today30 recent
Cascade Mountains seen from2018Cascade Mountains seen fromMarket Street erratics2015Market Street erraticsMarket Street erratic close up2015Market Street erratic close upLake Stevens,WA museum 012011Lake Stevens,WA museum 01Lake Stevens,WA War Memorial 022011Lake Stevens,WA War Memorial 02Lake Stevens,WA War Memorial 012011Lake Stevens,WA War Memorial 01Lake Stevens,WA Family Center2011Lake Stevens,WA Family CenterLake Stevens, WA welcome sign 012011Lake Stevens, WA welcome sign 01Lake Stevens, WA - Post Office 012011Lake Stevens, WA - Post Office 01Lake Stevens, WA - North Cove Park pano 012011Lake Stevens, WA - North Cove Park pano 01Lake Stevens, WA - North Cove Park 052011Lake Stevens, WA - North Cove Park 05Lake Stevens, WA - North Cove Park 042011Lake Stevens, WA - North Cove Park 04Lake Stevens, WA - North Cove Park 022011Lake Stevens, WA - North Cove Park 02Lake Stevens, WA - North Cove Park 012011Lake Stevens, WA - North Cove Park 01Lake Stevens, WA - Library 012011Lake Stevens, WA - Library 01Lake Stevens, WA - City Swimming Beach pano 012011Lake Stevens, WA - City Swimming Beach pano 01Lake Stevens, WA - City Hall 012011Lake Stevens, WA - City Hall 01Lake Stevens main street2011Lake Stevens main streetLake Stevens city hall & library2011Lake Stevens city hall & libraryLake Stevens Rowing Club 012011Lake Stevens Rowing Club 01Lake Stevens Frontier Village 12011Lake Stevens Frontier Village 1Lake Stevens, WA - house & power lines2009Lake Stevens, WA - house & power linesLake Stevens, WA - de Jong Sawdust & Shavings 022009Lake Stevens, WA - de Jong Sawdust & Shavings 02Lake Stevens, WA - de Jong Sawdust & Shavings 012009Lake Stevens, WA - de Jong Sawdust & Shavings 01Lake Stevens, WA - Community Park entrance2009Lake Stevens, WA - Community Park entranceJoe's store in Lake Stevens, 20092009Joe's store in Lake Stevens, 2009North of2008North ofLake Stevens, Washington2008Lake Stevens, WashingtonLake Stevens, Washington2008Lake Stevens, WashingtonSnohomish Centennial Trail2007Snohomish Centennial Trail
On the map

Lake Stevens on the map, 1941 to 1968

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lake Stevens. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Lake Stevens on the 1941 USGS mapLake Stevens on the 1956 USGS mapLake Stevens on the 1968 USGS map1941Marysville sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lake Stevens.

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.

Lake Stevens High School, November 4, 1929
Retake this viewLake Stevens High School, November 4, 1929, 1929

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Lake Stevens’ page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Lake Stevens

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1995
Grimm House
Grimm House
Buildings
Grimm HouseBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Lake Stevens

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Jacob EasonAmerican football player · b. 1997
K
Kevin QuigleyAmerican politician from Washington
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

MachiasIts storyC+CavaleroIts storyD−Bunk FossIts storyDLake CassidyIts storyC−

Questions about Lake Stevens’ history

What year was Lake Stevens founded?

The Lake Stevens post office opened in 1916, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Lake Stevens rank for history?

Lake Stevens is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #187 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 Stevens?

One place: the Grimm House (listed 1995).

How old are the homes in Lake Stevens?

3% of Lake Stevens’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1997.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (32), Wikidata (1), 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 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.