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History · Roslyn

Roslyn dates to 1886, and 58% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 582 buildings. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1890.

1886founded
2on the National Register
58%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Roslyn’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Roslyn began

When was Roslyn founded?

1886

Roslyn dates its founding to 1886 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 1,484 in 18902020 census: 950140 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1887.The full story ↓

What stands out about Roslyn’s past

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

A historic districtThe Roslyn Historic District takes in 582 historic buildings.Old housesHalf of Roslyn’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 3,126 in 1910; 950 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1888 to 1912, drew every building in Roslyn.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 583 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
583
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Northwestern Improvement Company Store
Northwestern Improvement Company Store, built 1889Roslyn Historic District
BuildingsDistricts
Northwestern Improvement Company StoreBuilt 1889
All 2 listings
Roslyn Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1978

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

The story

How Roslyn came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Roslyn.

Read it all →

Coal deposits were first noted in the Roslyn area in 1883, with a large vein discovered at the upper Smith Creek canyon in 1885 by C.P. Brosious, Walter J. Reed, and Ignatius A. Navarre. Roslyn was platted in 1886 by Logan M. Bullet, vice president of the Northern Pacific Coal Company, at the time that the company initiated the first commercial coal mining operations there, to support railway operations.

ChaptersEarly historyKnights of Labor Strike of 1888 and African American migrationAfrican American populationRoslyn's ethnic cemeteriesPost mining era

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Roslyn, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,126

Peaked at 3,126 in 1910; 950 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Timeline

Roslyn, 1885 to 1984

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1885In the archiveUnidentified man in U.S. military uniform, Rosyln, Washington, ca. 1885
  3. 1886
    FoundingRoslyn is established
  4. 1887Post officeThe Roslyn post office opens
  5. 1889BuiltNorthwestern Improvement Company Store is built
  6. 1890In the archiveEmployees at Northern Pacific Coal Company, ca. 1890 - DPLA - 375dcd08db694190cde445ad70f…
  7. 20th century
  8. 1906In the archiveDollart family, Roslyn, Washington, 1906
  9. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 3,126
  10. 1911In the archiveHotel Roslyn, 432 5th Ave. N. at N. Republican St., Seattle
  11. 1984On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Roslyn, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1890s6 items
Unidentified man in U.S. military uniform, Rosyln, Washington, ca. 1885c. 1885Unidentified man in U.S. military uniform, Rosyln, Wa…Frank and Johanna Dollart, Roslyn, Washington, 18881888Frank and Johanna Dollart, Roslyn, Washington, 1888Employees at Northern Pacific Coal Company, ca. 1890 - DPLA - 375dcd08db694190cde445ad70f3c7a9c. 1890Employees at Northern Pacific Coal Company, ca. 1890 …Frank and Johanna Dollart with infant Henry F. Dollart, Roslyn, Washington, 18901890Frank and Johanna Dollart with infant Henry F. Dollar…Roslyn, Washington, 18901890Roslyn, Washington, 1890Roslyn, Washington, 18911891Roslyn, Washington, 1891
1900s–1910s5 items
Dollart family, Roslyn, Washington, 19061906Dollart family, Roslyn, Washington, 1906Coal exhibits from Roslyn Mines and the Evans Creek Coal and Coke Company in the Mines Building, Alaska Yukon Pacific E…1909Coal exhibits from Roslyn Mines and the Evans Creek C…Hotel Roslyn, 432 5th Ave. N. at N. Republican St., Seattle1911Hotel Roslyn, 432 5th Ave. N. at N. Republican St., S…Coal tipple and head frame, Roslyn, ca. 1913c. 1913Coal tipple and head frame, Roslyn, ca. 1913Coal vein in Roslyn, ca. 1913c. 1913Coal vein in Roslyn, ca. 1913
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
On the map

Roslyn on the map, 1984 to 2003

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

Roslyn on the 1984 USGS mapRoslyn on the 2003 USGS map1984Cle Elum sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Roslyn.

Every building

Roslyn, building by building, 1888–1912

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.

Roslyn fire insurance map, 1888, sheet 11888Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
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.

Unidentified man in U.S. military uniform, Rosyln, Washington, ca. 1885
Retake this viewUnidentified man in U.S. military uniform, Rosyln, Washington, ca. 1885, c. 1885

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

Retake this view · +15
Help out

Finish Roslyn’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewUnidentified man in U.S. military unifo…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Roslyn’s history

What year was Roslyn founded?

In 1886, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Roslyn’s post office opened in 1887, and the census of 1890 counted 1,484 people here.

What is on the National Register in Roslyn?

Two places: the Northwestern Improvement Company Store (listed 1973) and the Roslyn Historic District (1978).

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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.