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D−History
History · Moses Lake

Moses Lake’s post office opened in 1906

More historic than 4% of U.S. towns · #266 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

Most of Moses Lake was built recently: 0.7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1912 on, and the census since 1940.

1906first post office
0on the National Register
0.7%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
14famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Moses Lake’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Moses Lake began

When was Moses Lake founded?

1906

The Moses Lake post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1938. Another post office, Neppel (1911), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 326 in 19402020 census: 25,146120 years

How historic is Moses Lake?

D−

More historic than 4% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Moses Lake post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1938.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Moses Lake’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Moses Lake is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #266 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Moses Lake’s overall grade.
Founding era1906, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19400.7% of homes (±0.5) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical WA town 0.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 4%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 7%

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 Moses 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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1938 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 Moses Lake’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19123 editions of the USGS map, 1912 to 1978. Watch Moses Lake change.Famous sons and daughtersClarence Gilyard, Pierson Fodé and 12 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Moses Lake’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMoses Lake float in Seafair parade, 1960: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Moses Lake on the map, 1912 to 1978

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

Moses Lake on the 1912 USGS mapMoses Lake on the 1956 USGS mapMoses Lake on the 1978 USGS map1912Moses Lake 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 Moses Lake.

Famous people

14 famous people were born in Moses Lake

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

See all →
Clarence GilyardAmerican actor · b. 1955
Pierson FodéAmerican actor and model · b. 1991
ValkyraeAmerican video game streamer · b. 1992
Joseph J. TysonAmerican Catholic prelate · b. 1957
Matt CedeñoAmerican actor and model · b. 1973
B
Bryan WarrickAmerican basketball player · b. 1959
The story

How Moses Lake came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Moses Lake.

Read it all →

Before the construction of Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River in 1941 and Moses Lake Army Air Base in 1942 the area was largely barren. Native Americans knew the area as Houaph, which meant willow. Chief Moses was leader of the Sinkiuse tribe from 1859 to 1899, and was forced to negotiate with white settlers who began to settle in the area in the 1880s. Under pressure from the government, Chief Moses traded the Columbia Basin land for a reservation that stretched from Lake Chelan north to the Canada–US border. The government later traded again for what is now the Colville Indian Reservation.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Moses Lake, 1906 to 1992

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1906Post officeThe Moses Lake post office opens
  3. 1911Post officeThe Neppel post office opens
  4. 1912On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1939Post officeThe Neppel post office closes
  6. 1955Born hereClarence Gilyard is born here
  7. 1957Born hereJoseph J. Tyson is born here
  8. 1960In the archiveMoses Lake float in Seafair parade, 1960
  9. 1987In the archiveWoody's ice cream sign, B-90
  10. 1991Born herePierson Fodé is born here
  11. 1992Born hereValkyrae is born here
By decade

Moses Lake, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1960s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1960s–1980s2 items
Moses Lake float in Seafair parade, 19601960Moses Lake float in Seafair parade, 1960Woody's ice cream sign, B-901987Woody's ice cream sign, B-90
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
Today10 recent
Aerial - Moses Lake, WA 03 - white balanced (9794714986) (cropped)2013Aerial - Moses Lake, WA 03 - white balanced (97947149…Aerial - Moses Lake, WA 032013Aerial - Moses Lake, WA 03Aerial - Moses Lake, WA 02 - white balanced2013Aerial - Moses Lake, WA 02 - white balancedAerial - Moses Lake, WA 022013Aerial - Moses Lake, WA 02Aerial - Moses Lake, WA 01 - white balanced2013Aerial - Moses Lake, WA 01 - white balancedAerial - Moses Lake, WA 012013Aerial - Moses Lake, WA 01Quantum Man2007Quantum ManMoses Lake War Memorial2007Moses Lake War MemorialMoses Lake Public Library2006Moses Lake Public LibraryWAMap-doton-Moses Lake2004WAMap-doton-Moses Lake
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.

Moses Lake float in Seafair parade, 1960
Retake this viewMoses Lake float in Seafair parade, 1960, 1960

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Moses Lake, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,0001940196019802000202025,146

Grew from 326 people in 1940 to 25,146 in 2020, more than tenfold.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Moses Lake’s post office has been open since 1906. Another post office, Neppel, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Moses Lake
1906–today
Neppel
1911–1939
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Westlake
Gone or out of use
Moses Lake Army Air Fieldmilitary

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Cascade ValleyIts storyD−Moses Lake NorthIts storyD

Questions about Moses Lake’s history

What year was Moses Lake founded?

The Moses Lake post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1938.

How does Moses Lake rank for history?

Moses Lake is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #266 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 Moses Lake?

0.7% of Moses Lake’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1992.

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 (12), 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) 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.