Ridgefield’s post office opened in 1890, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns · #101 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Ridgefield was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2012. Its Register listings are the Arndt Prune Dryer, the William Henry Shobert House and the Lambert School. Below: maps from 1912 on and the census since 1910.
The Ridgefield post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1909. Two smaller post offices, Union Ridge (1865) and Pioneer (1873), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 297 in 19102020 census: 10,319136 years
How historic is Ridgefield?
C+
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Ridgefield post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1909.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ridgefield’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ridgefield is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #101 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ridgefield’s overall grade.
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 Ridgefield’s 3.0 sits above most of its state (69% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1909.
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 Ridgefield’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Ridgefield’s post office has been open since 1890. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Union Ridge
1865–1890
Pioneer
1873–1905
Ridgefield
1890–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Pioneer
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Ridgefield, building by building, 1912–1930
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.
1912Sheet 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.
Ridgefield is located near the site of Cathlapotle, a Chinookan village that had been occupied since 1450. It was potentially the latest version of a town that had existed there for over 2000 years. Cathlapotle participated in the fur trade since 1792, when villagers embarked on canoes to meet the Vancouver Expedition. The area has important ties to the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804–1806, which visited the town and described its layout in journals. By then, it was a settlement of 700–800 people, with at least 14 substantial plank houses. Malaria epidemics killed many of its residents during the 1800s, and most people left the village in the early 1830s. Some surviving Chinookan, Cowlitz and Klickitat people used the village until the 1850s, when white settlers began to establish themselves nearby. Use of the village ended when the U.S. forced local tribes to move onto reservations.…
The Ridgefield post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1909.
How does Ridgefield rank for history?
Ridgefield is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #101 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 Ridgefield?
Three places: the Arndt Prune Dryer (listed 1979), the William Henry Shobert House (1979) and the Lambert School (1989).
How old are the homes in Ridgefield?
2% of Ridgefield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 2012.
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 (4), 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.
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