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History · Packwood

Packwood’s post office opened in 1930, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1962 on.

1930first post office
0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Walter Siegmund · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Packwood began

When was Packwood founded?

1930

The Packwood post office opened in 1930, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Sulpher Springs (1890), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 31996 years
Founding year: the first Packwood post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Packwood’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 Packwood are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Packwood’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Packwood came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Packwood.

Read it all →

Before the Packwood community began, a large village of the Upper Cowlitz people existed at the present-day site of the town; tribal members near Kiona Creek were known as the ceq'klama.

ChaptersFlooding

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Packwood, 1890 to 1962

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890Post officeThe Sulpher Springs post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910Post officeThe Sulpher Springs post office closes
  5. 1930Post officeThe Packwood post office opens
  6. 1962On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Packwood, decade by decade

Today18 recent
Blue Spruce 81492023Blue Spruce 8149Ace Hardware 81602023Ace Hardware 8160Mount Rainier Scenic Route2021Mount Rainier Scenic RouteSnow Melt2017Snow MeltReflection Lake2017Reflection LakeReflection Lake2017Reflection LakeMt Rainier2017Mt RainierPackwood, United States (Unsplash)2016Packwood, United States (Unsplash)White pass country museum2015White pass country museumVaccinium species (I think) - Flickr - brewbooks2014Vaccinium species (I think) - Flickr - brewbooksBotanizing Penstemon at Faraway Rock - Flickr - brewbooks2014Botanizing Penstemon at Faraway Rock - Flickr - brewb…Rainy Days and Mondays2011Rainy Days and Mondays2011 Road Odyssey Pictures of 201120112011 Road Odyssey Pictures of 2011Nisqually Glacier 09002008Nisqually Glacier 0900Cervus canadensis 08862008Cervus canadensis 0886Cervus canadensis 08842008Cervus canadensis 0884Chutla peak pause2006Chutla peak pauseA - panoramio (23)2006A - panoramio (23)
On the map

Packwood on the map, 1962 to 1994

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

Packwood on the 1962 USGS mapPackwood on the 1989 USGS mapPackwood on the 1994 USGS map1962Packwood 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 Packwood.

Famous people

Famous people close to Packwood

Nobody well known was born in Packwood itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Buzz OsborneAmerican musician · b. 1964
Brandy ClarkAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1977
Mark FuhrmanAmerican police detective · b. 1952
Gene AmondsonAmerican religious minister, artist, and alcoho… · b. 1943
Bill BryantPolitician · b. 1957
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Packwood’s post office has been open since 1930. Another post office, Sulpher Springs, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Sulpher Springs
1890–1910
Packwood
1930–today
18901960today

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

Questions about Packwood’s history

What year was Packwood founded?

The Packwood post office opened in 1930, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (18), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.