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C−History
History · Poulsbo

Poulsbo’s post office opened in 1886

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #161 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

Most of Poulsbo was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1937 on, and the census since 1910.

1886first post office
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Poulsbo’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Poulsbo began

When was Poulsbo founded?

1886

The Poulsbo post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1907.

First census: 364 in 19102020 census: 11,975140 years

How historic is Poulsbo?

C−

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Poulsbo post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1907.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Poulsbo’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Poulsbo is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #161 of 285 in Washington. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Poulsbo’s overall grade.
Founding era1886, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.6% of homes (±3.3) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%C+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical WA town 0.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 24%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 44%

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 Poulsbo’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.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1907.

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 Poulsbo’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages4 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Poulsbo’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewUnited Lutheran Church at Poulsbo, Wash…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Poulsbo’s post office has been open since 1886.

Hamlets and corners on the map
LincolnPoulsbo Mobile ParkSeabird Mobile Home ParkViking Mobile Home Park
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Poulsbo
First Lutheran ChurchPoulsbo

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

The story

How Poulsbo came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Poulsbo.

Read it all →

The Suquamish people have inhabited Liberty Bay for millennia, hunting in local forests and floodplains, fishing in bays and streams, and harvesting shellfish along the shoreline. The site upon which the modern city is built is called č̓uʔč̓uɬac, meaning "maple trees". The Suquamish had a winter village nearby, at the head of Liberty Bay, anglicized variously as "Ho-Cheeb" and "Xoyacid," which consisted of two large houses and four smaller houses. It existed until the late 1800s when settlers began populating the area.

After the signing of the Treaty of Point Elliott in 1855, most of the Suquamish people living in the area were relocated to the Port Madison Indian Reservation.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Poulsbo, 1886 to 1975

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Poulsbo post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910In the archiveUnited Lutheran Church at Poulsbo, Washington, ca. 1910
  5. 1920In the archiveOyster dyke at Poulsbo, Washington, June 1920
  6. 1937On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1975In the archiveNEW COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION ADJACENT TO HIGHWAY ^305 AT POULSBO. INCREASED CONSTRUCTION A…
By decade

Poulsbo, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1920s3 items
United Lutheran Church at Poulsbo, Washington, ca. 1910c. 1910United Lutheran Church at Poulsbo, Washington, ca. 19…FMIB 44967 Home Station of Pacific Coast Codfish Co1917FMIB 44967 Home Station of Pacific Coast Codfish CoOyster dyke at Poulsbo, Washington, June 19201920Oyster dyke at Poulsbo, Washington, June 1920
1930s–1960snothing 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
1970s1 item
NEW COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION ADJACENT TO HIGHWAY ^305 AT POULSBO. INCREASED CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY IN THIS AREA AND... - …1975NEW COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION ADJACENT TO HIGHWAY ^305 …
1980s–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
Today14 recent
Fall Colors, YELLOW2008Fall Colors, YELLOWFall Colors across Liberty Bay2008Fall Colors across Liberty BayDramatic Fall Colors at Viking Park2008Dramatic Fall Colors at Viking ParkDeer Run neighborhood - panoramio (1)2008Deer Run neighborhood - panoramio (1)Crisp Day on the water - Sharp2008Crisp Day on the water - SharpBoats on the Bay nice fall colors2008Boats on the Bay nice fall colors5 moored sailboats, 1 cruiser coming in to port20085 moored sailboats, 1 cruiser coming in to port2008-12-18, Downtown Poulsbo, Washington, snowy morning20082008-12-18, Downtown Poulsbo, Washington, snowy morni…US Navy 070622-N-2143T-002 Sailors assigned to USS Henry Jackson (SSBN 730) pick up litter along Highway 3 as part of W…2007US Navy 070622-N-2143T-002 Sailors assigned to USS He…Poulsbo, Liberty Bay, looking West, extremely rare calm day2006Poulsbo, Liberty Bay, looking West, extremely rare ca…Poulsbo Yacht Club reflection on the water2006Poulsbo Yacht Club reflection on the waterPoulsbo Liberty Bay2006Poulsbo Liberty BayPoulsbo2006PoulsboWAMap-doton-Poulsbo2004WAMap-doton-Poulsbo
On the map

Poulsbo on the map, 1937 to 1981

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

Poulsbo on the 1937 USGS mapPoulsbo on the 1953 USGS mapPoulsbo on the 1968 USGS mapPoulsbo on the 1973 USGS mapPoulsbo on the 1981 USGS map1937Port Orchard 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 Poulsbo.

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.

United Lutheran Church at Poulsbo, Washington, ca. 1910
Retake this viewUnited Lutheran Church at Poulsbo, Washington, ca. 1910, c. 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Poulsbo, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00019201940196019802000202011,975

Grew from 364 people in 1910 to 11,975 in 2020, more than tenfold.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Poulsbo

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

See all →
Dove CameronAmerican actress and singer · b. 1996
Madelaine PetschAmerican actress and YouTuber · b. 1994
A
Andra DayAmerican singer · b. 1984
Mike EnziAmerican politician · b. 1944
Nathan AdrianAmerican swimmer · b. 1988
Ben GibbardAmerican singer, songwriter and guitarist · b. 1976

Questions about Poulsbo’s history

What year was Poulsbo founded?

The Poulsbo post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1907.

How does Poulsbo rank for history?

Poulsbo is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #161 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.

How old are the homes in Poulsbo?

7% of Poulsbo’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.3 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1996.

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 (18), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.