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C−History
History · Lynnwood

Lynnwood’s post office opened in 1948, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 15% of U.S. towns · #199 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Keeler's Korner. Most of Lynnwood was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1942 on, and the census since 1960.

1948first post office
1on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lynnwood’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Lynnwood began

When was Lynnwood founded?

1948

The Lynnwood post office opened in 1948, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1959. Two smaller post offices, Seattle Heights (1910) and Alderwood Manor (1920), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 7,207 in 19602020 census: 38,56878 years

How historic is Lynnwood?

C−

More historic than 15% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Lynnwood post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1959.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Lynnwood’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lynnwood is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #199 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 Lynnwood’s overall grade.
Founding era1948, from the first post office: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19401.2% of homes (±0.7) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 0.5 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 15%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 30%

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 Lynnwood’s 0.5 sits near the middle of its state (57% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1959 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 Lynnwood’s past

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

Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Lynnwood, and 20 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Lynnwood’s post office has been open since 1948. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Seattle Heights
1910–1973
Alderwood Manor
1920–1964
Lynnwood
1948–today
19101970today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Alderwood ManorBeardens Mobile Home ParkBeverly AcresCandlewood Estates Mobile Home ParkCedar ValleyCenter Mobile ParkEvergreen Estates Mobile HomesJ and L Mobile Home ParkKingsbury East Mobile Home ParkKingsbury West Mobile Home ParkLynnwood Mobile ParkMarks Mobile Home ParkMeadowdale Mobile Home ParkMedo Lynn Mobile Home ParkRoyalwood Mobile Home EstatesSeattle HeightsSeattle Heights Mobile Home ParkSpacette Mobile Home CommunitySquire Mobile Home ParkTally Ho Mobile Home Park

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

The story

How Lynnwood came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lynnwood.

Read it all →

Prior to contact with American settlers, the Snohomish tribe of Native Americans used the area of modern-day Lynnwood for summertime activities, including hunting, fishing, berry gathering and root cultivation. The Snohomish were relocated to the Tulalip reservation, near modern-day Marysville, after the signing of the Treaty of Point Elliott in 1855, opening the area for American settlement.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lynnwood, 1910 to 1997

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1910In the archiveSeattle-Everett Traction Company tracks near Martha Lake, 1910
  3. 1910Post officeThe Seattle Heights post office opens
  4. 1920Post officeThe Alderwood Manor post office opens
  5. 1925In the archiveChicken farm with open and closed coops, Alderwood Manor, Washington, ca. 1925
  6. 1942On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1948Post officeThe Lynnwood post office opens
  8. 1964Born hereTom McGrath is born here
  9. 1964Post officeThe Alderwood Manor post office closes
  10. 1967In the archiveI-5 at Swamp Creek Interchange, 1967
  11. 1973Post officeThe Seattle Heights post office closes
  12. 1975Born hereCristin Clark is born here
  13. 1980In the archiveSno King Drive-in Theater, Route 99, Lynwood, Washington
  14. 1997Born hereMyles Gaskin is born here
By decade

Lynnwood, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1920s3 items
Seattle-Everett Traction Company tracks near Martha Lake, 19101910Seattle-Everett Traction Company tracks near Martha L…Crescent Manufacturing Company Social Association Picnic, Halls Lake, July 12, 19191919Crescent Manufacturing Company Social Association Pic…Chicken farm with open and closed coops, Alderwood Manor, Washington, ca. 1925c. 1925Chicken farm with open and closed coops, Alderwood Ma…
1930s–1950snothing 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
1960s–1980s3 items
I-5 at Swamp Creek Interchange, 19671967I-5 at Swamp Creek Interchange, 1967WA 6 I5 FHWA 1967 10031967WA 6 I5 FHWA 1967 1003Sno King Drive-in Theater, Route 99, Lynwood, Washington1980Sno King Drive-in Theater, Route 99, Lynwood, Washing…
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
Today18 recent
Lynnwoodwelcome2009LynnwoodwelcomeLuminator control panel2009Luminator control panelLEDs. Cool!2009LEDs. Cool!Front door area2009Front door areaDriver's window2009Driver's windowDE60LFA back end2009DE60LFA back endCrossroads Swift Station at night2009Crossroads Swift Station at nightCool destination sign!2009Cool destination sign!Community Transit Swift 29712 at Crossroads in2009Community Transit Swift 29712 at Crossroads inPicnic Point 12008Picnic Point 1Ctbusstop2008CtbusstopCT 28106 - 2011 New Flyer D40LFR at2008CT 28106 - 2011 New Flyer D40LFR atLynnwoodWA196thSTandHwy992007LynnwoodWA196thSTandHwy99Lynnwood2007LynnwoodLynnwood Washington neighborhood2007Lynnwood Washington neighborhoodCommunity Transit bus2007Community Transit busLot Photo From Street2006Lot Photo From StreetMt. Rainier From2005Mt. Rainier From
On the map

Lynnwood on the map, 1942 to 1981

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

Lynnwood on the 1942 USGS mapLynnwood on the 1953 USGS mapLynnwood on the 1968 USGS mapLynnwood on the 1973 USGS mapLynnwood on the 1981 USGS map1942Edmonds 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 Lynnwood.

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.

Seattle-Everett Traction Company tracks near Martha Lake, 1910
Retake this viewSeattle-Everett Traction Company tracks near Martha Lake, 1910, 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Lynnwood

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
1982
Keeler's Korner
Keeler's Korner
Buildings
Keeler's KornerBuilding

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

People over time

Lynnwood, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,000196019802000202038,568

Grew from 7,207 people in 1960 to 38,568 in 2020, 5 times over.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Lynnwood

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

See all →
Tom McGrathAmerican voice actor, animator and film director · b. 1964
Myles GaskinAmerican football player · b. 1997
C
Cristin ClarkAmerican (US) female curler · b. 1975
Help out

Finish Lynnwood’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewSeattle-Everett Traction Company tracks…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

North LynnwoodIts storyDAlderwood ManorIts storyDEdmonds1 historic placeCMountlake TerraceIts storyD−MeadowdaleIts storyD

Questions about Lynnwood’s history

What year was Lynnwood founded?

The Lynnwood post office opened in 1948, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1959.

How does Lynnwood rank for history?

Lynnwood is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #199 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 Lynnwood?

One place: the Keeler's Korner (listed 1982).

How old are the homes in Lynnwood?

1% of Lynnwood’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1979.

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 (24), 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) 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.