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BHistory
History · Raymond

Raymond’s post office opened in 1904, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #44 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Raymond Public Library, the Raymond Theater and the US Post Office-Raymond Main. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1909 on, and the census since 1910.

1904first post office
3on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Raymond’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Raymond began

When was Raymond founded?

1904

The Raymond post office opened in 1904, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 2,450 in 19102020 census: 3,081122 years

How historic is Raymond?

B

More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Raymond’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Raymond is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #44 of 285 in Washington. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Raymond’s overall grade.
Founding era1904, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194029.1% of homes (±7.7) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register3 listings, 9.3 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 60%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 85%

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 Raymond’s 9.3 sits above most of its state (84% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 Raymond’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 4,260 in 1920; 3,081 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1909 to 1919, drew every building in Raymond.
★ What stands out · People over time

Raymond, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,500192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,260

Peaked at 4,260 in 1920; 3,081 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Every building

Raymond, building by building, 1909–1919

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.

Raymond fire insurance map, 1909, sheet 11909Sheet 1 of 15
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 Raymond came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Raymond.

Read it all →

Raymond was incorporated on August 6, 1907. Raymond was named after L.V. Raymond, who was the first postmaster in Raymond. In the early years, Raymond's business section was built on stilts five or six feet above the tidelands and sloughs that crisscrossed the site. Elevated sidewalks and streets connected most of the buildings. Raymond claimed a population of 6,000 in the year 1913 and had a reputation as a wild and wooly lumber mill town. City fathers resisted the unwanted reputation with promotions of Raymond as "The Empire City of Willapa Harbor" and "The City That Does Things". Lyricist Robert Wells, who wrote "The Christmas Song" with Mel Tormé, was born in Raymond in 1922.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Raymond, 1904 to 1955

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1904Post officeThe Raymond post office opens
  3. 1910In the archiveThe Hospital - Raymond, Wash back
  4. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 4,260
  5. 1922Born hereRobert Wells is born here
  6. 1928BuiltRaymond Theater is built
  7. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Raymond, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s5 items
The Hospital - Raymond, Wash back1910sThe Hospital - Raymond, Wash backPostcardThe Hospital - Raymond, Wash front1910sThe Hospital - Raymond, Wash frontPostcardSiler Mill Co., Raymond, Washington, ca. 1914c. 1914Siler Mill Co., Raymond, Washington, ca. 1914PostcardMain St., Raymond, Washington, ca. 1914c. 1914Main St., Raymond, Washington, ca. 1914Launch of the PEZUTA in Raymond WA, The Aug 28, 19181918Launch of the PEZUTA in Raymond WA, The Aug 28, 1918
1920s–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
Today16 recent
Raymond, WA - war memorial 012009Raymond, WA - war memorial 01Raymond, WA - football practice2009Raymond, WA - football practiceRaymond, WA - fire station2009Raymond, WA - fire stationRaymond, WA - entrance to public pool2009Raymond, WA - entrance to public poolRaymond, WA - William Gurr Memorial Park 012009Raymond, WA - William Gurr Memorial Park 01Raymond, WA - Ugly Ed's2009Raymond, WA - Ugly Ed'sRaymond, WA - South Fork Willapa River 022009Raymond, WA - South Fork Willapa River 02Raymond, WA - South Fork Willapa River 012009Raymond, WA - South Fork Willapa River 01Raymond, WA - PUD 012009Raymond, WA - PUD 01Raymond, WA - Jr Sr High School2009Raymond, WA - Jr Sr High SchoolRaymond, WA - 239 7th St2009Raymond, WA - 239 7th StRaymond, WA - 216 13th St2009Raymond, WA - 216 13th StRaymond, WA - 1231 Duryea St2009Raymond, WA - 1231 Duryea StWA-401 at WA-4 sign2008WA-401 at WA-4 signNo 27 Harbor Scene2007No 27 Harbor SceneWAMap-doton-Raymond2004WAMap-doton-Raymond
On the map

Raymond on the map, 1955 to 1986

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

Raymond on the 1955 USGS mapRaymond on the 1986 USGS map1955Raymond 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 Raymond.

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.

The Hospital - Raymond, Wash back
Retake this viewThe Hospital - Raymond, Wash back, 1910s

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Raymond

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Raymond Public Library
Raymond Public LibraryRaymond Theater, built 1928US Post Office-Raymond Main
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

English Cottage1
Renaissance Revival1
Colonial Revival1
Raymond Public LibraryEnglish Cottage
Raymond TheaterRenaissance Revival · Built 1928
US Post Office-Raymond MainColonial Revival

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Raymond’s post office has been open since 1904.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Timberland Village Mobile Home ParkWillapa Bayview Estates Mobile Home Park
1cemetery inside Raymond
Washington

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

Help out

Finish Raymond’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewThe Hospital - Raymond, Wash back: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

South Bend4 historic placesA−

Questions about Raymond’s history

What year was Raymond founded?

The Raymond post office opened in 1904, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Raymond rank for history?

Raymond is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #44 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 Raymond?

Three places: the Raymond Public Library (listed 1979), the Raymond Theater (1991) and the US Post Office-Raymond Main (1991).

How old are the homes in Raymond?

29% of Raymond’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1965.

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 (21), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.