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History · Lyman

Lyman’s post office opened in 1880, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Birdsey D. Minkler House. Its Register listing is the Birdsey D. Minkler House.

1880first post office
1on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Lyman began

When was Lyman founded?

1880

The Lyman post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 423146 years
Founding year: the first Lyman post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Lyman’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Lyman are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lyman’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Lyman came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lyman.

Read it all →

Prior to American settlement, the Chobaabish (Lushootseed: čubəʔabš) band of the Skagit people had two winter houses around what is now Lyman. One winter longhouse was located close to the present town, along Lyman Slough (Lushootseed: yət̕ič). Another winter longhouse was located across the Skagit River, at the mouth of Day Creek (Lushootseed: sk̓ʷəb).

Lyman's first postmaster, B.L. Lyman, named the town for himself. Lyman was officially incorporated on May 8, 1909. Floodwaters in the channel, eroded a hundred feet of property during November 2017.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lyman, 1880 to 1925

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Post officeThe Lyman post office opens
  3. 1891BuiltBirdsey D. Minkler House is built
  4. 20th century
  5. 1925Born hereNiles Jordan is born here
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the National Register

1 historic place in Lyman

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
Birdsey D. Minkler House
Birdsey D. Minkler House, built 1891
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian1
Birdsey D. Minkler HouseLate Victorian · Built 1891

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

Questions about Lyman’s history

What year was Lyman founded?

The Lyman post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Lyman?

One place: the Birdsey D. Minkler House (listed 1988).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.