More historic than 12% of U.S. towns · #214 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Lexington was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: maps from 1921 on and old-book passages.
Founding year: the first Lexington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Lexington’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lexington is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #214 of 285 in Washington. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lexington’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 Lexington’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (27% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% 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 (±0.8 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 Lexington’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lexington. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1921Kalama 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 Lexington.
The story so far
Lexington, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lexington yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Lexington is a census-designated place (CDP) in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. The population was 3,834 at the 2020 census. During the 2010 census, Lexington was part of the West Side Highway CDP. The CDP is in the western part of the county and is bordered to the southwest by Beacon Hill and to the east by the Cowlitz River. State Route 411 runs through the community, following the Cowlitz. It leads south 4 miles (6 km) to Longview and north 8 miles (13 km) to Castle Rock.
Its first post office opened in 1888.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Lexington in 1872
Passages that mention Lexington, cut from the printed page as they were published.
first news of the capture of Ruddell's and Martin's stations,* both of which were distant only a few hours march from Lexington. The discouraged inmates of Grant's station, which was between Bryant's and the present town of Paris, dreading a like fate, abandoned it and sought refuge in the more secure fort at Lexington, where some of them remained during the winter. But the immediate danger was now over. Colonel Byrd, either from disgust and in-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
ington station. McConnell's station stood on the ground lately occupied by Headley's distillery,* on the old Frankfort road, and the fine spring there ("Koyal's") was, at an early day, the favorite resort of the people of Lexington on public occasions. Alexander, the brother of William McConnell, was the hero of the thrilling adventure narrated in another chapter, in which he proved himself, unaided, a match for five Indians. The McConnells and
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
Lexington, 1888 to 1921
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Lexington post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Lexington rank for history?
Lexington is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #214 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.
How old are the homes in Lexington?
0.0% of Lexington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1992.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
