Mukilteo dates to 1858, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns · #114 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Mukilteo was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Its Register listings are the Mukilteo Light Station and the Point Elliott Treaty Monument. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1912 on, and the census since 1950.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1861.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Mukilteo’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mukilteo is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #114 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mukilteo’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 Mukilteo’s 2.3 sits above most of its state (65% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% 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 (±1.0 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1858.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 →
The Snohomish people had a year-round village in the Mukilteo area for at least 600 years before the arrival of European and American explorers in the 19th century. Early artifacts uncovered during waterfront construction in the 2010s were carbon dated to 1,000 years before present.
The Vancouver Expedition, led by British explorer George Vancouver, visited the area on May 30, 1792, and landed at modern-day Mukilteo the following day. Lieutenant William Robert Broughton and botanist Archibald Menzies named the site "Rose Point" after the wild Nootka roses that grew along the shore. An American expedition led by Charles Wilkes in 1841 renamed the headland "Point Elliott" for Samuel Elliott, a midshipman.
Passages that mention Mukilteo, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Snohomish County, Washington, Volume I1926 · page 585Read the page →
Read the text
Together with the historical facts concerning Mukilteo there have grown up many legends that are without foundation. Men speak of the “courthouse” at Mukilteo and of sessions of the court held there. Mukilteo was never the permanent county seat; but two sessions of the board of commissioners were held there, both in the Frost and Fowler store; and no term of court higher than that of the probate judge was ever held in Snohomish County until 1877, fifteen years after the county seat was permanently located at Snohomish City. At a recent meeting of pioneers it was related that the victory of Snohomish in the first county seat
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Snohomish County, Washington, Volume I1926 · page 589Read the page →
Read the text
of the Deselle tract for summer resort purposes and planned a daily fast steamer from Seattle. Mrs. Thomas and Alexander Spithill were members of the school board at this time and the school, too, was booming. Everett was now getting its start, and the excitement carried over to Mukilteo. Peter Gravelle, a French- Canadian trapper who first came to Snohomish County in 1867, although he did not settle in Mukilteo until 1877, platted an addition and sold fifteen lots in Snohomish within a week. Gov. L. K. Church became interested and bonded the Deselle waterfront property in the south part of the town for $4,500. Church filed a plat cover-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Mukilteo, 1858 to 2001
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.
In 1858, according to Wikidata. Mukilteo’s post office opened in 1861, and the census of 1950 counted 826 people here.
How does Mukilteo rank for history?
Mukilteo is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #114 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 Mukilteo?
Two places: the Mukilteo Light Station (listed 1977) and the Point Elliott Treaty Monument (2004).
How old are the homes in Mukilteo?
1% of Mukilteo’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1989.
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), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1862
