More historic than 11% of U.S. towns · #222 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Milton was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1961 on, and the census since 1910.
Founding year: the first Milton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Milton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Milton is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns, #222 of 285 in Washington. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Milton’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 Milton’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 D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.0 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 Milton’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 Milton yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Milton is a city in King and Pierce counties in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 8,697 at the time of the 2020 census. Milton borders the larger but newer town of Edgewood.
Its first post office opened in 1905. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 6,968 to 8,697 (+25%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Milton, 1905 to 1961
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The Milton post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Milton rank for history?
Milton is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns, #222 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 Milton?
4% of Milton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1988.
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 (7), the Library of Congress (2), 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.
1941
2024
2024
2022
2021
2009
2009
2009
