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B−History
History · Parkland

Parkland’s post office opened in 1891, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 45% of U.S. towns · #74 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

Most of Parkland was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1941 on, and the census since 1970.

1891first post office
4on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Parkland’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Parkland began

When was Parkland founded?

1891

The Parkland post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 21,012 in 19702020 census: 38,623135 years

How historic is Parkland?

B−

More historic than 45% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Parkland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Parkland’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Parkland is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #74 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Parkland’s overall grade.
Founding era1891, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19405.3% of homes (±2.0) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register4 listings, 10 historic buildings, 2.6 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 45%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 74%

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 Parkland’s 2.6 sits above most of its state (68% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 10 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% 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 (±2.0 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Parkland’s past

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

Lost villages10 hamlets and corners are still on the map.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Parkland had its own post office from 1891 to 1954.

Parkland
1891–1954
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Brookdale Greens Mobile Home ParkCharleton Lake Estates Mobile Home ParkClover Creek Trailer CourtFairlane Terrace Mobile Home ParkFirwood Mobile Home ParkMiller's Villa Mobile Home ParkMobile ManorOne Hundred Thirty - Eighth Park Mobile EstatesParkland Mobile VillagePinecrest Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Mary Mount Military Academyschool
1cemetery inside Parkland
Trinity Lutherian

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

On the National Register

4 historic places in Parkland

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
10
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Old Main
Old Main, built 1894Emma Smith DeVoe HousePeter Smith Farm-Donation Land ClaimParkland Lutheran Children's Home, built 1902
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

L-Shaped Farmhouse1
Old MainBuilt 1894
Emma Smith DeVoe HouseBuilding
Peter Smith Farm-Donation Land ClaimL-Shaped Farmhouse
Parkland Lutheran Children's HomeBuilt 1902

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story so far

Parkland, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Parkland yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Parkland is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pierce County, Washington. The population was 35,803 at the time of the 2010 census and had grown to 38,623 as of the 2020 census. It is an unincorporated suburb of the city of Tacoma and is home to Pacific Lutheran University. Parkland borders most of Tacoma's southern cutoff at 96th St, and borders with much of the northern cutoff of Spanaway, Washington, at 152nd St (or Military Rd E). The most influential motorway is State Route 7/Pacific Ave, which travels north and south, and leads from Interstate 5 in Tacoma all the way to Mount Rainier. Pacific Ave is also a main commercial corridor through much of the county, including Parkland. It was…

Its first post office opened in 1891. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 35,803 to 38,623 (+8%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Parkland in 1927

Passages that mention Parkland, cut from the printed page as they were published.

cessful that Mr. Mann sold the dairy and devoted his attention entirely to the florist business. They remained in Tacoma until 1891, when they moved to Larchmont (now a part of Tacoma) and operated their greenhouses there until 1899, when they went to Parkland, where they were in the same business …
History of Pierce County Washington1927 · page 217Read the page →
Read the text

cessful that Mr. Mann sold the dairy and devoted his attention entirely to the florist business. They remained in Tacoma until 1891, when they moved to Larchmont (now a part of Tacoma) and operated their greenhouses there until 1899, when they went to Parkland, where they were in the same business two years. In 1901 Mr. Mann came to Puyallup, established his greenhouses and for over twenty-five years has held a commanding place in the florist business, although he does not at present engage in growing. He has a splendid equipment for the successful handling of his enterprise and has found it both a profitable and a pleasant vocation.

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

Parkland, 1891 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891Post officeThe Parkland post office opens
  3. 1894BuiltOld Main is built
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902BuiltParkland Lutheran Children's Home is built
  6. 1905In the archiveTwo girls standing under large oak tree, Parkland, Washington, ca. 1905
  7. 1910In the archiveHaycocks in a field on Anderson Farm near Parkland, Washington, ca. 1910
  8. 1941On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1954Post officeThe Parkland post office closes
By decade

Parkland, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s7 items
Two girls standing under large oak tree, Parkland, Washington, ca. 1905c. 1905Two girls standing under large oak tree, Parkland, Wa…Haycocks in field, Peter Smith farm nearc. 1906Haycocks in field, Peter Smith farm nearParkland baseball team, Washington, ca. 1906c. 1906Parkland baseball team, Washington, ca. 1906Sales homestead in winter, Parkland, Washington, ca. 1906c. 1906Sales homestead in winter, Parkland, Washington, ca. …Interurban electric car of the Tacoma Railway and Power Company near Parkland, Washington, ca. 1907c. 1907Interurban electric car of the Tacoma Railway and Pow…Train at Parkland Station, Washington, ca. 1908c. 1908Train at Parkland Station, Washington, ca. 1908Two women beneath large oak tree near Parkland, Washington, ca. 1908c. 1908Two women beneath large oak tree near Parkland, Washi…
1910s4 items
Haycocks in a field on Anderson Farm near Parkland, Washington, ca. 1910c. 1910Haycocks in a field on Anderson Farm near Parkland, W…Haycocks in a field on Anderson Farm near Parkland, Washington, ca. 1910c. 1910Haycocks in a field on Anderson Farm near Parkland, W…Haycocks in apple orchard, probably Anderson farm near Parkland, Washington, ca. 1910c. 1910Haycocks in apple orchard, probably Anderson farm nea…Young boy with hat sitting in large oak tree, near Parkland, Washington, ca. 1910c. 1910Young boy with hat sitting in large oak tree, near Pa…
1920s–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

Parkland on the map, 1941 to 1994

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

Parkland on the 1941 USGS mapParkland on the 1961 USGS mapParkland on the 1973 USGS mapParkland on the 1981 USGS mapParkland on the 1994 USGS map1941Tacoma South 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 Parkland.

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.

Two girls standing under large oak tree, Parkland, Washington, ca. 1905
Retake this viewTwo girls standing under large oak tree, Parkland, Washington, ca. 1905, c. 1905

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Parkland, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,000198020002020Peak: 38,623

Between 20,882 and 38,623 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Parkland’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewTwo girls standing under large oak tree…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

McChord AFB1 historic placeB+Clover CreekIts storyC−Tacoma92 historic placesA−Lakewood9 historic placesB+SpanawayIts storyC−MidlandIts storyC−FredericksonIts storyD−

Questions about Parkland’s history

What year was Parkland founded?

The Parkland post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Parkland rank for history?

Parkland is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #74 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 Parkland?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Old Main (listed 1984, the first). 10 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Parkland?

5% of Parkland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1979.

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), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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 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.