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History · Reardan

Reardan’s post office opened in 1890, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1910.

1890first post office
0on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Reardan’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Reardan began

When was Reardan founded?

1890

The Reardan post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Capps (1882) and Reardon (1889), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 527 in 19102020 census: 637136 years
Founding year: the first Reardan post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Reardan’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1930, drew every building in Reardan.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Reardan.Old housesHalf of Reardan’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Reardan’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewSpokane River Bridge at Long Lake Dam, …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Reardan, building by building, 1894–1930

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.

Reardan fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 11894Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Reardan’s post office has been open since 1890. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Capps
1882–1889
Reardon
1889–1890
Reardan
1890–today
18801950today

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

The story

How Reardan came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Reardan.

Read it all →

Founded in 1882 and platted in 1889, Reardan was named for Central Washington Railroad engineer C.F. Reardan. Reardan was incorporated on April 14, 1903.

The town is home to the elementary/middle/high school serving the Reardan-Edwall School District, covering over 360 square miles (930 km2) in Lincoln and Spokane counties. The slough north of town, known as Audubon Lake, is well known among birders as a busy stop on the Pacific Flyway and features public facilities for viewers. A Hutterite colony settled in the area in 1961.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Reardan, 1882 to 1945

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe Capps post office opens
  3. 1889Post officeThe Capps post office closes
  4. 1889Post officeThe Reardon post office opens
  5. 1890Post officeThe Reardon post office closes
  6. 1890Post officeThe Reardan post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1922Born hereJoe E. Mann is born here
  9. 1945On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Reardan, decade by decade

Date unknown2 to date
Spokane River Bridge at Long Lake Dam, Spannng Spokane River at State Route 231Date?Spokane River Bridge at Long Lake Dam, Spannng Spokan…Long Lake Hydroelectric Plant, Spanning Spokane River, Ford, Stevens County, WADate?Long Lake Hydroelectric Plant, Spanning Spokane River…
Today1 recent
Reardan WA USA April 14, 2025 United States Post Office2025Reardan WA USA April 14, 2025 United States Post Offi…
On the map

Reardan on the map, 1945 to 1973

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

Reardan on the 1945 USGS mapReardan on the 1953 USGS mapReardan on the 1973 USGS map1945Reardan 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 Reardan.

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.

Spokane River Bridge at Long Lake Dam, Spannng Spokane River at State Route 231
Retake this viewSpokane River Bridge at Long Lake Dam, Spannng Spokane River at State Route 231

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Reardan, census by census

0100200300400500600700192019401960198020002020Peak: 637

Between 389 and 637 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Questions about Reardan’s history

What year was Reardan founded?

The Reardan post office opened in 1890, 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 →
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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (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.