More historic than 10% of U.S. towns · #226 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Martha Lake was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Below: maps from 1944 on and the census since 1980.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Martha Lake is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns, #226 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Martha Lake’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 Martha Lake’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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.7 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Martha Lake’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Martha Lake yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Martha Lake is a census-designated place (CDP) in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The population was 21,129 at the 2020 census. It lies west of Mill Creek and northeast of Lynnwood, near the lake of the same name. Based on per capita income, Martha Lake ranks 95th of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 15,473 to 21,660 (+40%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Martha Lake in 1926
Passages that mention Martha Lake, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Snohomish County, Washington, Volume I1926 · page 373Read the page →
Read the text
in service early in the year, and it still remains the auxiliary power plant of the system in 1926. At this time the service was confined to the district between 19th Street and Lowell, so a substation was established at Lowell to centralize the service in that busy suburb and extend service to the growing Martha Lake district. When the street railway loop was opened in May, 1901, swinging off the main line on Hewitt south on Rucker to Pacific and thence west to the Great Northern station at Kromer Avenue, past the old Monte Cristo Hotel, service desired at the Pacific Avenue end of the line was subject to the signal chime 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.
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.
Martha Lake is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns, #226 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 Martha Lake?
2% of Martha Lake’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1998.
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, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
