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MountlakeTerrace WelcomePhoto: ECTran71 · Public domain
D−History
History · Mountlake Terrace

Mountlake Terrace dates to 1949

More historic than 2% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Mountlake Terrace was built recently: 0.5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: maps from 1942 on and the census since 1960.

1949founded
0on the National Register
0.5%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: ECTran71 · Public domain
Quick answers

How Mountlake Terrace began

When was Mountlake Terrace founded?

1949

Mountlake Terrace dates its founding to 1949 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1960.

First census: 9,122 in 19602020 census: 21,28677 years

How historic is Mountlake Terrace?

D−

More historic than 2% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1906.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Mountlake Terrace’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mountlake Terrace is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mountlake Terrace’s overall grade.
Founding era1949, from Wikipedia: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19400.5% of homes (±0.4) · 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 2%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)#284 of 285

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 Mountlake Terrace’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 (±0.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1949.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Mountlake Terrace’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Mountlake Terrace are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Mountlake Terrace, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mountlake Terrace’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Mountlake Terrace’s post office has been open since 1955. Another post office, Ballinger, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Ballinger
1906–1907
Mountlake Terrace
1955–today
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Courtyard Mobile Home ParkMountain View Villa Mobile Home ParkYoungs Mobile Home Park

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

The story

How Mountlake Terrace came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mountlake Terrace.

Read it all →

The southwestern region of Snohomish County was originally inhabited by the Snohomish people, who primarily settled along the Puget Sound and used inland areas for seasonal hunting and foraging. In 1862, Puget Mill Company acquired 17,000 acres (6,900 ha) in the newly-formed county, including the thickly-forested plateau where modern-day Mountlake Terrace sits and the adjacent Lake McAleer. The land was logged by 1900 and was later subdivided into 10-acre (4.0 ha) chicken ranches, which were sold to farmers. Judge Richard A. Ballinger purchased Lake McAleer in 1901 and renamed it to Lake Ballinger for his father, later leaving the area to become Seattle mayor. The Nile Shrine of Seattle purchased 135 acres (55 ha) on the east side of the lake in 1927, building a clubhouse and later a private golf course.

ChaptersDevelopment and incorporationEarly growthLate 20th century21st century redevelopment

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mountlake Terrace, 1906 to 1995

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1906Post officeThe Ballinger post office opens
  3. 1907Post officeThe Ballinger post office closes
  4. 1942On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1949
    FoundingMountlake Terrace is established
  6. 1955Post officeThe Mountlake Terrace post office opens
  7. 1982Born hereSeamus Boxley is born here
  8. 1995Born hereDevante Downs is born here
By decade

Mountlake Terrace, decade by decade

Today11 recent
Dawn over Mountlake Terrace, WA May 20262026Dawn over Mountlake Terrace, WA May 2026Mountlake Church2024Mountlake ChurchMasjid Umar Al-Farooq2024Masjid Umar Al-FarooqBethesda Lutheran Church2024Bethesda Lutheran ChurchRedstone Corporate Center - Mountlake Terrace interim city hall2020Redstone Corporate Center - Mountlake Terrace interim…Mountlake Terrace library, 20192019Mountlake Terrace library, 2019MountlakeTerrace Welcome2010MountlakeTerrace WelcomeMountlake Terrace 236th&56th2010Mountlake Terrace 236th&56thKyoko Wright 022010Kyoko Wright 02Kyoko Wright 012010Kyoko Wright 01WAMap-doton-Mountlake Terrace2004WAMap-doton-Mountlake Terrace
On the map

Mountlake Terrace on the map, 1942 to 1981

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

Mountlake Terrace on the 1942 USGS mapMountlake Terrace on the 1953 USGS mapMountlake Terrace on the 1968 USGS mapMountlake Terrace on the 1973 USGS mapMountlake Terrace on the 1981 USGS map1942Edmonds 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 Mountlake Terrace.

People over time

Mountlake Terrace, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,000196019802000202021,286

Grew from 9,122 people in 1960 to 21,286 in 2020.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Mountlake Terrace

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

See all →
S
Seamus BoxleyAmerican basketball player · b. 1982
Devante DownsNFL linebacker · b. 1995
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Edmonds1 historic placeCBrierIts storyDLynnwood1 historic placeC−Alderwood ManorIts storyD

Questions about Mountlake Terrace’s history

What year was Mountlake Terrace founded?

In 1949, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Mountlake Terrace’s post office opened in 1906, and the census of 1960 counted 9,122 people here.

How does Mountlake Terrace rank for history?

Mountlake Terrace is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns. 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 Mountlake Terrace?

0.5% of Mountlake Terrace’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), 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 (11), 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.