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BHistory
History · Montesano

Montesano’s post office opened in 1860, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 57% of U.S. towns · #47 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

Its Register listing is the US Post Office-Montesano Main. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1890.

1860first post office
1on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Montesano’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Montesano began

When was Montesano founded?

1860

The Montesano post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1870. Two smaller post offices, Wynookee (1860) and Wynooche (1886), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 1,632 in 18902020 census: 4,138166 years

How historic is Montesano?

B

More historic than 57% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Montesano post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1870.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Montesano’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Montesano is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns, #47 of 285 in Washington. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Montesano’s overall grade.
Founding era1860, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194018.4% of homes (±6.7) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register1 listing, 2.4 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 57%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 84%

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 Montesano’s 2.4 sits above most of its state (66% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1870 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 Montesano’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 Montesano, and 2 old place names are still on the map.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1889 to 1909, drew every building in Montesano.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Montesano’s post office has been open since 1860. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Montesano
1860–today
Wynookee
1860–1861
Wynooche
1886–1901
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Eastgate Mobile Home ParkEvergreen Mobile Estates
1cemetery inside Montesano
Wynooche

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

Every building

Montesano, building by building, 1889–1909

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Montesano fire insurance map, 1889, sheet 11889Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Montesano came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Montesano.

Read it all →

According to Edwin Van Syckle, a portion of the present-day town of Montesano was first platted in 1870 by Samuel Henry Williams, who purchased land in what was known as Wedcalf Prairie, named after the early settler William Medcalf. At about the same time, surveyor Charles Newton Byles bought a farm from Walter King on the present-day site of Montesano on April 9, 1870, and later platted three blocks on the west side of Main Street. The town of Montesano was born, but it was not incorporated until November 26, 1883, by the Washington Territorial Legislature.

ChaptersMedcalf PrairieSouth Montesano21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Montesano, 1860 to 1988

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860Post officeThe Montesano post office opens
  3. 1860Post officeThe Wynookee post office opens
  4. 1861Post officeThe Wynookee post office closes
  5. 1886Born hereHelen Margaret Gilkey is born here
  6. 1886Post officeThe Wynooche post office opens
  7. 1887Born hereReuben H. Fleet is born here
  8. 20th century
  9. 1901Post officeThe Wynooche post office closes
  10. 1909In the archiveScene near Monte Sano
  11. 1920In the archiveTwo-tailed calf that earned $115.00 for the Red Cross at Montesano, Wash
  12. 1929Born hereDenne Bart Petitclerc is born here
  13. 1935BuiltUS Post Office-Montesano Main is built
  14. 1940On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  15. 1988Born hereAdam Bighill is born here
By decade

Montesano, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1920s3 items
Scene near Monte Sano1909Scene near Monte SanoTwo-tailed calf that earned $115.00 for the Red Cross at Montesano, Wash1920Two-tailed calf that earned $115.00 for the Red Cross…Coastal ship loading lumber at Schafer Brother's Logging Company's mill no. 1 at Montesano, ca. 1926c. 1926Coastal ship loading lumber at Schafer Brother's Logg…
1930s–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
Date unknown2 to date
Methodist Episcopal Church, Church & Spruce StreetsDate?Methodist Episcopal Church, Church & Spruce StreetsC. M. Byles House, Main & Spruce StreetsDate?C. M. Byles House, Main & Spruce Streets
Today4 recent
Sylvia Creek Forestry Trail outside Lake Sylvia State Park 012023Sylvia Creek Forestry Trail outside Lake Sylvia State…Montesano, WA - Fleet Park pano 012011Montesano, WA - Fleet Park pano 01Untitled photo2011Untitled photoMontesano, WA - Fleet Park2009Montesano, WA - Fleet Park
On the map

Montesano on the map, 1940 to 1982

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

Montesano on the 1940 USGS mapMontesano on the 1955 USGS mapMontesano on the 1982 USGS map1940Montesano 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 Montesano.

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.

Scene near Monte Sano
Retake this viewScene near Monte Sano, 1909

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Montesano

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1991
US Post Office-Montesano Main
US Post Office-Montesano Main, built 1935
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Moderne1
Starved Classicism1
US Post Office-Montesano MainModerne · Built 1935

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

People over time

Montesano, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,50019001920194019601980200020204,138

Grew from 1,632 people in 1890 to 4,138 in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Montesano

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

See all →
H
Helen Margaret GilkeyAmerican botanist, mycologist and scientific il… · b. 1886
Reuben H. FleetAmerican pilot and businessman · b. 1887
Adam BighillCanadian football player · b. 1988
D
Denne Bart PetitclercAmerican journalist, television producer and sc… · b. 1929
Fran PolsfootAmerican football player · b. 1927
Wayne SuttonAmerican football player and coach · b. 1890
Help out

Start Montesano’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Montesano’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewScene near Monte Sano: 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.

BradyIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Montesano’s history

What year was Montesano founded?

The Montesano post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1870.

How does Montesano rank for history?

Montesano is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns, #47 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 Montesano?

One place: the US Post Office-Montesano Main (listed 1991).

How old are the homes in Montesano?

18% of Montesano’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1973.

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 (5), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (1), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.