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CHistory
History · Richland

Richland’s post office opened in 1905, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 32% of U.S. towns · #124 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 117 buildings. Most of Richland was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1909 on, and the census since 1910.

1905first post office
2on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
30famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Richland’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Richland began

When was Richland founded?

1905

The Richland post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 350 in 19102020 census: 60,560121 years

How historic is Richland?

C

More historic than 32% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Richland’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Richland is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #124 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Richland’s overall grade.
Founding era1905, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19401.5% of homes (±0.7) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register2 listings, 118 historic buildings, 18.8 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 32%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 57%

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 Richland’s 18.8 sits above most of its state (90% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 118 historic buildings outnumber those of 90% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. 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 Richland’s past

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

A historic districtThe Gold Coast Historic District takes in 117 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1910 and 1930, then grew more than tenfold.Famous sons and daughtersOrson Scott Card, Hope Solo and 28 more were born here.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 118 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
118
each building in a district counts
first listed
2005
Gold Coast Historic District
Gold Coast Historic DistrictPost Office and Federal Office Building
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Modern Movement1
Gold Coast Historic DistrictModern Movement
All 2 listings
Post Office and Federal Office BuildingBuilding · listed 2024

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

Help out

Start Richland’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Richland’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 viewTri-cities 1917: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Richland, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,00060,00065,000192019401960198020002020350 in 1910Low: 208

Lost a third of its people between 1910 and 1930, then grew more than tenfold.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Richland came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Richland.

Read it all →

For centuries, the village of Chemna was at the mouth of the Yakima River. Today the village site is called Columbia Point. From the village, the indigenous Wanapum, Yakama, and Walla Walla people harvested salmon runs entering the Yakima River. Captain William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition visited the mouth of the Yakima River on October 17, 1805.

ChaptersFormative yearsWorld War IICold War eraTransition to private propertyAfter the production boom

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Richland, 1905 to 2020

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1905Post officeThe Richland post office opens
  3. 1917In the archiveTri-cities 1917
  4. 1951Born hereOrson Scott Card is born here
  5. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1968Born hereNate Mendel is born here
  7. 1971In the archivePRESIDENT NIXON'S VISIT TO
  8. 1981Born hereHope Solo is born here
  9. 1985Born hereLeilani Mitchell is born here
  10. 21st century
  11. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 60,560
By decade

Richland, decade by decade

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

1910s1 item
Tri-cities 19171917Tri-cities 1917
1920s–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
PRESIDENT NIXON'S VISIT TO1971PRESIDENT NIXON'S VISIT TO
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
Today22 recent
West Fork of Amon Creek2013West Fork of Amon CreekUntitled photo2013Untitled photoUntitled photo2013Untitled photoBeaver Dam West Fork of Amon Creek2013Beaver Dam West Fork of Amon CreekTri-Cities, Washington (2010 TIGER Census)2012Tri-Cities, Washington (2010 TIGER Census)Pink Gorilla Games ID2012Pink Gorilla Games IDA holding tank dump station in2012A holding tank dump station inHunt Point Circle, 20112011Hunt Point Circle, 2011GooseRidge Estate2011GooseRidge EstateBookwater Estate2011Bookwater EstateBateman Island, 20112011Bateman Island, 2011Bateman Island, 2011 Richland Washington - panoramio (1)2011Bateman Island, 2011 Richland Washington - panoramio …Firefighter training, Richland, Washington, 20102010Firefighter training, Richland, Washington, 2010Einstein's matter to energy formula on the wall of public library in Richland, WA2010Einstein's matter to energy formula on the wall of pu…99 degrees200999 degreesRichlandWaRattlesnakeYakima2006RichlandWaRattlesnakeYakimaRichlandWaRattlesnakeFromBadger2006RichlandWaRattlesnakeFromBadgerRichlandWaRattlesnake-12006RichlandWaRattlesnake-1RichlandWaBadgerTrail-A2006RichlandWaBadgerTrail-ARichland WA From Badger Mountain2006Richland WA From Badger MountainRed and Rattlesnake,Washington2006Red and Rattlesnake,WashingtonWAMap-doton-Richland2004WAMap-doton-Richland
On the map

Richland on the map, 1951 to 1992

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

Richland on the 1951 USGS mapRichland on the 1978 USGS mapRichland on the 1992 USGS map1951Richland 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 Richland.

Every building

Richland, building by building, 1909–1928

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.

Richland fire insurance map, 1909, sheet 11909Sheet 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.

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.

Tri-cities 1917
Retake this viewTri-cities 1917, 1917

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

30 famous people were born in Richland

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
O
Orson Scott CardAmerican science fiction novelist · b. 1951
Hope SoloAmerican soccer player · b. 1981
Nate MendelAmerican bassist · b. 1968
Leilani MitchellAustralian basketball player · b. 1985
Mary Ann HortonUsenet pioneer · b. 1955
T
Terence KnoxAmerican actor · b. 1946
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Richland’s post office has been open since 1905.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Island ViewRichland JunctionRichland Y
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Richland
ResthavenSunset Memorial Gardens

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Kennewick1 historic placeCWest RichlandIts storyD−Pasco6 historic placesC+

Questions about Richland’s history

What year was Richland founded?

The Richland post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Richland rank for history?

Richland is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #124 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 Richland?

Two places: the Gold Coast Historic District (listed 2005) and the Post Office and Federal Office Building (2024).

How old are the homes in Richland?

2% of Richland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1988.

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 (24), 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.