Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 8% of U.S. towns · #251 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Peaceful Valley was built recently: 0.5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: maps from 1919 on and the census since 2000.
More historic than 8% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Peaceful Valley is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #251 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Peaceful Valley’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (27% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: our sources. 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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Peaceful Valley’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Peaceful Valley. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Peaceful Valley.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Peaceful Valley yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Peaceful Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) in Whatcom County, Washington, United States, near Kendall. The population was 3,015 at the 2020 census.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 3,324 to 3,015 (-9%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Between 2,448 and 3,324 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Peaceful Valley’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Peaceful Valley itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Peaceful Valley is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #251 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.
0.5% of Peaceful Valley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1988.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
