Lakewood dates to 1833, and 9 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 66% of U.S. towns · #35 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Lakewood was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. 9 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 22 buildings. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1948 on, and the census since 1970.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1874.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lakewood’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lakewood is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #35 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lakewood’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 Lakewood’s 5.4 sits above most of its state (77% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 34 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1833.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Lakewood’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
Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Lakeview
1874–1963
Fort Steilacoom
1881–1966
Lake City
1890–1898
American Lake
1908–1957
Tillicum
1917–1957
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Acorn Meadows Mobile Home ParkAlpine Estates Mobile Home ParkAmerican Lake Garden TractBobs Mobile Home ParkCanterbury Estates Mobile Home ParkCarriage Mobile Home CourtClinton ParkClover ParkCusterFairfield Estates Mobile Home ParkFairfield Mobile Home ParkFir Acres Mobile Home ParkFrancis Mobile Home CourtInterlakenJamestown Estates Mobile Home ParkKarwin Village Mobile Home ParkLake CityLakeviewManor Mobile Home ParkMonta VistaMount Tacoma Mobile ParkNorth West Mobile Home ParkNorthwest Mobile Home ParkOaknoll Trailer Park
Gone or out of use
Clover Park Vocational Technical School AirportairportFort Steilacoomlocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lakewood
Home of PeaceMount View Memorial Park
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the National Register
9 listings protect 34 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Lakewood was officially incorporated as a city on February 28, 1996, on the same day as Edgewood. It immediately became the second largest city in Pierce County and among the largest in the state. Three previous attempts to incorporate as a city had been rejected by voters in 1971, 1990, and 1994 before it was approved by a 20-point margin on March 14, 1995, within a smaller area. Historical names include Tacoma/Lakewood Center and Lakes District (this name was used by the U.S. Census in the 1970 and 1980 Census). Lakewood is home to the Clover Park School District, the Lakewood Water District, Fort Steilacoom Park and Western State Hospital, a regional state psychiatric hospital. Thornewood Castle was built in the vicinity of Tacoma in the area that is now Lakewood.
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.
In 1833, according to Wikidata. Lakewood’s post office opened in 1874, and the census of 1970 counted 48,195 people here.
How does Lakewood rank for history?
Lakewood is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #35 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 Lakewood?
9 listings: 7 buildings, 1 historic district, the Fort Steilacoom, with 22 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 34 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Lakewood?
3% of Lakewood’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 (10), the Library of Congress (8), the National Register of Historic Places (9), 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) 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.
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