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History · Nespelem

Nespelem’s post office opened in 1899, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1950 on, and the census since 1940.

1899first post office
0on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Nespelem’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Nespelem began

When was Nespelem founded?

1899

The Nespelem post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1935.

First census: 300 in 19402020 census: 180127 years
Founding year: the first Nespelem post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1935.The full story ↓

What stands out about Nespelem’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 425 in 1950; 180 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Nespelem’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHotel, Nespelem, Colville Indian Reserv…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Nespelem, census by census

010020030040019401960198020002020Peak: 425

Peaked at 425 in 1950; 180 people lived here in 2020.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

The story

How Nespelem came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Nespelem.

Read it all →

Nespelem was founded by the Yakama leader Chief Kamiakin and officially incorporated on April 15, 1935. It is the site of a historic Nez Perce cemetery, which was the original burial ground of Chief Joseph.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Nespelem, 1899 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1899Post officeThe Nespelem post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900In the archiveHotel, Nespelem, Colville Indian Reservation, Washington, ca. 1900
  5. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 425
By decade

Nespelem, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s3 items
Hotel, Nespelem, Colville Indian Reservation, Washington, ca. 1900c. 1900Hotel, Nespelem, Colville Indian Reservation, Washing…Nespelem saw and grist mill, Nespelem, Colville Indian Reservation, Washington, ca. 1900c. 1900Nespelem saw and grist mill, Nespelem, Colville India…Nespelem, Colville Indian Reservation, Washington, 19001900Nespelem, Colville Indian Reservation, Washington, 19…
1910s–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
On the map

Nespelem on the map, 1950 to 1989

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

Nespelem on the 1950 USGS mapNespelem on the 1989 USGS map1950Nespelem 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 Nespelem.

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.

Hotel, Nespelem, Colville Indian Reservation, Washington, ca. 1900
Retake this viewHotel, Nespelem, Colville Indian Reservation, Washington, ca. 1900, c. 1900

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

Retake this view · +15
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Nespelem Community1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Nespelem’s history

What year was Nespelem founded?

The Nespelem post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1935.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), 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.