The story
Read it all →How Longview came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Longview.
Longview was the location of Mount Coffin, an ancestral burial ground for the local indigenous people.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B+History
History · Longview
Longview dates to 1850, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 66% of U.S. towns · #32 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
22 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 3 buildings between them. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1921 on, and the census since 1930.
1850founded
22on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
19famous people
Quick answers
How Longview began
When was Longview founded?
1850
Longview dates its founding to 1850 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1930.
First census: 10,652 in 19302020 census: 37,818176 years
How historic is Longview?
B+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 66% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1850.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Longview’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Longview is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #32 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Longview’s overall grade.
Founding era1850, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194016.9% of homes (±2.1) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register22 listings, 5.8 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 66%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 89%
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 Longview’s 5.8 sits above most of its state (77% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 22 listings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1850.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.1 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 Longview’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Landmarks on the Register22 places on the National Register.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Longview, and 2 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19214 editions of the USGS map, 1921 to 1990. Watch Longview change.Famous sons and daughtersDavid Korten, Jeff Stork and 17 more were born here.
★ What stands out · On the National Register
22 historic places in Longview
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
22
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
22
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Longview Bridge
BuildingsDistrictsStructures
Architectural styles listings
Art Deco4
Classical Revival3
Gothic Revival3
Colonial Revival2
Georgian Revival2
Classical2
Longview BridgeBuilt 1930
J. D. Tennant HouseColonial Revival · Built 1926
Big Four Furniture BuildingArt Deco · Built 1924
Columbia TheaterClassical Revival
First Christian ChurchGothic Revival
Long, Robert Alexander, High SchoolGeorgian Revival · Built 1927
Longview Community ChurchGothic Revival
Longview Community Church-Saint Helen's AdditionClassical · Built 1929
All 22 listings
Longview Community StoreBuilding · listed 1985Longview Women's ClubhouseBuilding · listed 1985Mills BuildingBuilding · listed 1985Pacific Telephone and Telegraph BuildingBuilding · listed 1985Pounder BuildingBuilding · listed 1985Schumann BuildingBuilding · listed 1985Sevier and Weed BuildingBuilding · listed 1985Tyni BuildingBuilding · listed 1985Washington Gas and Electric BuildingBuilding · listed 1985Willard BuildingBuilding · listed 1985US Post Office-Longview MainBuilding · listed 1991Nutty Narrows BridgeStructure · listed 2014Lake Sacajawea ParkDistrict · listed 1985Longview Civic Center Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1985
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and old corners
Longview’s post office has been open since 1922. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Monticello
Mount Solo
Longview
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Columbia Valley GardensMonticello
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Longview on the map, 1921 to 1990
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Longview. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1921Kalama sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Longview.
Timeline
Longview, 1850 to 1978
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1850FoundingLongview is established
- 1850Post officeThe Monticello post office opens
- 1876Post officeThe Monticello post office closes
- 20th century
- 1915Post officeThe Mount Solo post office opens
- 1921
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1922Post officeThe Longview post office opens
- 1923Post officeThe Mount Solo post office closes
- 1924BuiltBig Four Furniture Building is built
- 1926BuiltJ. D. Tennant House is built
- 1927BuiltLong, Robert Alexander, High School is built
- 1930BuiltLongview Bridge is built
- 1935
In the archiveView of Longview Homesteads. Longview, Washington - 1937
Born hereDavid Korten is born here - 1960Born hereJeff Stork is born here
- 1964
Born hereCharles Peterson is born here - 1978
Born hereJeff Bailey is born here
By decade
Longview, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1930s10 items
1935View of Longview Homesteads. Longview, Washington
1935View of Longview Homesteads. Longview, Washington
1935Family moving into their new home. Longview Homestead…
1935Family moving into their new home. Longview Homestead…
1936Longview Homesteads. Longview, Washington
1936House on Longview Homesteads. Longview, Washington
1936Longview Homesteads, Washington
1936Resident of Longview Homesteads in sawmill. Longview,…
1936Sawmill workers. Longview, Washington
1936Sawmill worker. Longview, Washington1940s–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 albumEvery building
Longview, building by building, 1924
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.
1924Sheet 1 of 21BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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 viewView of Longview Homesteads. Longview, Washington, 1935
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Longview’s page.
Retake this view · +15People over time
Longview, census by census
Grew from 10,652 people in 1930 to 37,818 in 2020, 3 times over.
10 censuses, 1930–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Longview’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →19 famous people were born in Longview
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Help out
Finish Longview’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Longview’s history
What year was Longview founded?
In 1850, according to Wikidata. Longview’s post office opened in 1850, and the census of 1930 counted 10,652 people here.
How does Longview rank for history?
Longview is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #32 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 Longview?
22 listings: 18 buildings, 2 historic districts, the Lake Sacajawea Park and the Longview Civic Center Historic District, with 3 contributing buildings, and 2 structures.
How old are the homes in Longview?
17% of Longview’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1967.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 the Library of Congress (10), Wikidata (13), the National Register of Historic Places (22), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.