Pasco’s post office opened in 1885, and 6 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 39% of U.S. towns · #90 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Pasco was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 5 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1890.
The Pasco post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1891. Two smaller post offices, Ainsworth (1879) and Ainsworth (1907), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 320 in 18902020 census: 77,108141 years
How did Pasco get its name?
Pasco was named by Virgil Bogue, a construction engineer for the Northern Pacific Railway after Cerro de Pasco, a city in the Peruvian Andes, where he had helped build a railroad.
How historic is Pasco?
C+
More historic than 39% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pasco is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #90 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 Pasco’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 Pasco’s 1.1 sits near the middle of its state (61% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 9 historic buildings outnumber those of 75% 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 (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1891 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Pasco’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Pasco’s post office has been open since 1885. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Ainsworth
1879–1885
Pasco
1885–today
Ainsworth
1907–1907
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Ainsworth JunctionPasco WestRiverviewWest Pasco
Gone or out of use
Naval Air Station Pascomilitary
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pasco
City ViewColumbia Memorial Gardens
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Pasco, building by building, 1891–1912
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1891Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
On October 16, 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition camped in the Pasco area, at a site now commemorated by Sacajawea State Park. The area was frequented by fur trappers and gold traders. In the 1880s, the Northern Pacific Railway was built near the Columbia River, bringing many settlers to the area. Pasco was officially incorporated on September 3, 1891. It was named by Virgil Bogue, a construction engineer for the Northern Pacific Railway after Cerro de Pasco, a city in the Peruvian Andes, where he had helped build a railroad. In its early years Pasco was a small railroad town, but the completion of the Grand Coulee Dam in 1941 brought irrigation and agriculture to the area.
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.
The Pasco post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1891.
How does Pasco rank for history?
Pasco is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #90 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 Pasco?
6 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Franklin County Courthouse (listed 1978, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Sacajawea State Park and the Kurtzman Park, with 5 contributing buildings. 9 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Pasco?
3% of Pasco’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 2001.
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 Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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