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Pataha, Washington (45525816425)Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0
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History · Pataha

Pataha’s post office opened in 1871

Most of Pataha was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1957. Below: maps from 1937 on.

1871first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Pataha began

When was Pataha founded?

1871

The Pataha post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Pataha City (1879), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 106155 years
Founding year: the first Pataha post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Pataha’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 Pataha are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Pataha’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pataha’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pataha’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 Pataha came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pataha.

Read it all →

The town is located on the Pataha Creek along the Nez Perce trail, a path used by the indigenous Nez Perce tribe for crossing the Rocky Mountains. The name Pataha is from the Nez Perce word for 'brush', signifying the dense brush along both sides of the creek.

In May 1806, Lewis and Clark passed through and spent the night on their return journey from the Pacific coast. In 1834, Captain B. L. E. Bonneville passed through the area doing survey work for the US Government.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pataha, 1871 to 1937

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Pataha post office opens
  3. 1878Post officeThe Pataha post office closes
  4. 1879Post officeThe Pataha City post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1908Post officeThe Pataha City post office closes
  7. 1937On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Pataha, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Pataha, Washington2018Pataha, Washington
On the map

Pataha on the map, 1937 to 1981

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

Pataha on the 1937 USGS mapPataha on the 1942 USGS mapPataha on the 1967 USGS mapPataha on the 1981 USGS map1937Pomeroy sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Pataha.

Famous people

Famous people close to Pataha

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

See all →
Jim MattisUnited States 26th Secretary of Defense · b. 1950
Bryan FullerAmerican screenwriter and television producer · b. 1969
John Kitzhaber35th and 37th governor of Oregon · b. 1947
Julie GibsonAmerican actress and singer · b. 1913
Yakima CanuttAmerican rodeo rider, actor and stuntman · b. 1895
Josh RitterAmerican musician · b. 1976
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Pataha had its own post office from 1871 to 1878. Another post office, Pataha City, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pataha
1871–1878
Pataha City
1879–1908
18701950today

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

Questions about Pataha’s history

What year was Pataha founded?

The Pataha post office opened in 1871, 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 →
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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 (1), 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.