Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1887.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Moxee’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Moxee is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #40 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Moxee’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 Moxee’s 8.6 sits above most of its state (83% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.5 points). Two sources give 1867.
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 Moxee’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Moxee was first settled by Mortimer Thorp and several French-Canadian farmers who arrived in 1867. A warm spring on the Thorp ranch emitted steam year round and never froze. It was known as "Moxee" by the native people, a Sahaptin word for an edible root, and the name was adopted for the settlement. Over time, the community has been variously known as: "Artesian", "Moksee", "Moxie", "Moxee City", and "Moxee."
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.
Moxee had its own post office from 1888 to 1892. Another post office, Moxie, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Moxie
1887–1888
Moxee
1888–1892
Moxee City
1911–today
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BirchfieldMoxee City
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Moxee’s history
What year was Moxee founded?
In 1867, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Moxee’s post office opened in 1887, and the census of 1930 counted 283 people here.
How does Moxee rank for history?
Moxee is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #40 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 Moxee?
One place: the LaFramboise Farmstead (listed 1985).
How old are the homes in Moxee?
16% of Moxee’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.5 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 2004.
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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.
2025
