More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #181 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Maltby was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: maps from 1944 on and the census since 2000.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1889.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Maltby’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Maltby is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #181 of 285 in Washington. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Maltby’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 Maltby’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 still be C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1887.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Maltby’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Maltby was first settled in 1887 after the arrival of the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway, which was built between Seattle and the Canadian border. A work camp at the top of a hill in the area was originally named Earl; it later became known as Yew. Real estate developer Robert Maltby purchased land in the area in 1890 and subdivided it into lots for sale; the local post office was renamed to Maltby in 1893. A sawmill was constructed in the settlement and operated until the early 20th century.
Passages that mention Maltby, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Snohomish County, Washington, Volume I1926 · page 614Read the page →
Read the text
known as Yew, the postoffice being established in 1889, with O. H. Lee as postmaster. In February, 1891, it was platted as the townsite of Yew by the Yew Land & Town Company, E. Y. Jeffrey president, W. H. Moore secretary, but the Northern Pacific Railway station was named Maltby, and in October, 1893, the name of the Yew postoffice was also changed to Maltby, which has remained the name of town and postoffice. It was a thriving mill town during the nineties, and has always manifested much material interest in its public schools. Present population is estimated at 750; seventeen miles southeast of Everett, thirty miles northeast of
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
Maltby, 1887 to 1953
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1887, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Maltby’s post office opened in 1889, and the census of 2000 counted 8,267 people here.
How does Maltby rank for history?
Maltby is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #181 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 Maltby?
4% of Maltby’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1985.
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 Wikipedia, 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 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.
