The Midland post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Larchmont (1893), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 9,962136 years
How historic is Midland?
C−
More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Midland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Midland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Midland is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #162 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 Midland’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 Midland’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 range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share (±2.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Midland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Midland had its own post office from 1890 to 1920. Another post office, Larchmont, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Midland
1890–1920
Larchmont
1893–1905
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Diru Mobile Home ParkGolden Given Mobile Home ParkHarvard View Mobile Home ParkLarchmontMidland Meadows Mobile Home ParkPacific Gardens Mobile Home ParkSunnyside Mobile Home ParkThe Maples Mobile Home ParkTyee Mobile ParkWilkeson Gardens Mobile Home Park
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The area that we have come to know as Midland in part was often referred to by the pioneers as Puyallup Hill. Taking advantage of the Governments Donation Land Grant of 1850, both Ezra Meeker and his older brother Oliver Meeker settled in the area in 1855. This was after their father, Jacob Meeker came west. Jacob settled in the area of South Tacoma. Not wanting to cross the sound Jacob talked both sons into moving to the mainland from their island home on McNeil Island. With this Ezra and Oliver staked out claims on the mainland next to each other. Ezra located his claim on the north side of Oliver's claim. These claims were described as the forest between Nisqually Plain and the Puyallup River.
Passages that mention Midland, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Pierce County Washington1927 · page 590Read the page →
Read the text
In 1907 the father brought the remaining members of the family to Tacoma, and engaged in farming at Midland, Washington, but returned to Missouri in 1922 and died there that year. Having secured his education in the public schools of Tacoma and in the College of Puget Sound, which he attended for two years, Adlai S. Walters then engaged in the jewelry business in Idaho and subsequently established a similar business in Seattle, Washington, where he remained until 1913. He then returned to Tacoma and opened a jewelry store at Thirty-eighth and Yakima streets, where he remained
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
Midland, 1890 to 1941
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Midland post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Midland rank for history?
Midland is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #162 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 Midland?
6% of Midland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1986.
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, 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.
