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AHistory
History · Pomeroy

Pomeroy dates to 1860, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 42 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1890.

1860founded
2on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pomeroy’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pomeroy began

When was Pomeroy founded?

1860

Pomeroy dates its founding to 1860 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 661 in 18902020 census: 1,389166 years

How historic is Pomeroy?

A

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1878.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Pomeroy’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pomeroy is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pomeroy’s overall grade.
Founding era1860, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194034.9% of homes (±11.2) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register2 listings, 43 historic buildings, 318 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 85%
NewerOlder

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 Pomeroy’s 318 sits above most of its state (99% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 43 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.2 points). Two sources give 1860.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Pomeroy’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Then and nowOne place photographed years apart. Drag to compare.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1888 to 1908, drew every building in Pomeroy.A historic districtThe Downtown Pomeroy Historic District takes in 42 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pomeroy’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewGarfield County courthouse: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Then & now

The same spot, years apart

Drag across each photo to compare.

Garfield County CourthouseGarfield County courthouse1911Today
Garfield County courthouseMatched from the two captions
Every building

Pomeroy, building by building, 1888–1908

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.

Pomeroy fire insurance map, 1888, sheet 11888Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Pomeroy came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pomeroy.

Read it all →

The Nez Perce trail existed in the area before history was recorded, and the first written record of caucasians passing through the area were Lewis and Clark in 1805. Captain Benjamin Bonneville also passed through the future site of the town while he was surveying for the US government in 1834. In 1860, an Irish settler named Parson Quinn settled just east of present-day Pomeroy, and lived there for the next 40 years. Rancher Joseph M. Pomeroy purchased the land in 1864, and platted the town's site in May 1878.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pomeroy, 1860 to 1941

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860
    FoundingPomeroy is established
  3. 1878Post officeThe Pomeroy post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1901BuiltGarfield County Courthouse is built
  6. 1911In the archiveGarfield County courthouse
  7. 1937On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1940Born hereMichael P. Malone is born here
  9. 1941In the archiveSign on wheat sack warehouse. Pomeroy, Washington
By decade

Pomeroy, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1940s3 items
Garfield County courthouse1911Garfield County courthouseUnidentified man and women in formal attire, Pomeroy, Washington, ca. 1917c. 1917Unidentified man and women in formal attire, Pomeroy,…Sign on wheat sack warehouse. Pomeroy, Washington1941Sign on wheat sack warehouse. Pomeroy, Washington
1950s–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
Today8 recent
Pataha Street, Looking East from Fourth2014Pataha Street, Looking East from FourthPostcardMain Street, circa 19122014Main Street, circa 1912PostcardMain Street, 19062014Main Street, 1906PostcardFourth Street Looking North, circa 19102014Fourth Street Looking North, circa 1910PostcardEast Pomeroy, circa 19122014East Pomeroy, circa 1912PostcardCombine Harvester, circa 19132014Combine Harvester, circa 1913PostcardBirdseye View, 19132014Birdseye View, 1913Postcard33-Horse Combine Harvester, circa 1913201433-Horse Combine Harvester, circa 1913Postcard
On the map

Pomeroy on the map, 1937 to 1981

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

Pomeroy on the 1937 USGS mapPomeroy on the 1942 USGS mapPomeroy on the 1967 USGS mapPomeroy 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 Pomeroy.

On the National Register

2 listings protect 43 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
43
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Garfield County Courthouse
Garfield County Courthouse, built 1901Downtown Pomeroy Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Victorian1
Italianate1
Gothic1
Sullivanesque1
Mission1
Commercial1
Garfield County CourthouseVictorian · Built 1901
Downtown Pomeroy Historic DistrictItalianate

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

People over time

Pomeroy, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,823

Between 661 and 1,823 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Questions about Pomeroy’s history

What year was Pomeroy founded?

In 1860, according to Wikidata. Pomeroy’s post office opened in 1878, and the census of 1890 counted 661 people here.

How does Pomeroy rank for history?

Pomeroy is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns. 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 Pomeroy?

Two places: the Garfield County Courthouse (listed 1974) and the Downtown Pomeroy Historic District (2003).

How old are the homes in Pomeroy?

35% of Pomeroy’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.2 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1953.

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 (9), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.