History · Seattle

Seattle has 226 places on the National Register, 8 of them National Historic Landmarks

More historic than 81% of U.S. towns · #12 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

Dated to 1851 (Wikidata), with 23% of its homes built before 1940 and 21 historic districts holding 3,221 contributing buildings. Below: 15 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, the census since 1860, and every listing on the Register.

1851founded

226on the National Register

23%homes built before 1940

15old photos & papers

25famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Seattle’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Seattle began

When was Seattle founded?

1851

Seattle dates its founding to 1851 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 188 in 18602020 census: 737,015175 years

How historic is Seattle?

A⁻

More historic than 81% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1852.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Seattle’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Seattle is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #12 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Seattle’s overall grade.

Founding era1851, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC⁺Homes built before 194022.8% of homes (±0.5) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%B⁺National Register226 listings, 3,221 historic buildings, 42.7 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4A⁺

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 81%

NewerOlder

Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 96%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Seattle ranks #114 on History.

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 Seattle’s 42.7 sits above most of its state (93% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 3,221 historic buildings outnumber those of 100% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1851.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Seattle’s past

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

A National Historic Landmark226 places on the National Register, 8 of them National Historic Landmarks.A historic districtThe Montlake Historic District takes in 871 historic buildings.Lost villages25 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Seattle, and 106 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18945 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1983. Watch Seattle change.

★ What stands out · On the National Register

226 listings protect 3,221 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 8 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed

226

National Historic Landmarks

Virginia V

historic buildings protected

3,221

each building in a district counts

first listed

1970

Pike Place Public Market Historic District

BuildingsDistrictsSitesStructuresObjects★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Beaux Arts9

Colonial Revival8

Neo-Classical8

Art Deco7

Classical Revival7

Victorian6

★ Landmark

Virginia VStructure

★ Landmark

RELIEF (lightship)Structure

★ Landmark

Pioneer Building, Pergola, and Totem PoleRomanesque Revival

★ Landmark

Seattle Electric Company Georgetown Steam PlantBuilding

★ Landmark

AdventuressSchooner

★ Landmark

ARTHUR FOSS (tugboat)Tugboat

★ Landmark

DuwamishFireboat

★ Landmark

Panama HotelCommercial · Built 1910

All 226 listings

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Seattle’s post office has been open since 1852. 25 other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Seattle

1852–today

Alki

1854–1855

Milton

1878–1879

Milton

1888–1890

Ross

1888–1901

Ballard

1889–1908

Edgewater

1889–1891

Maple Leaf

1889–1891

West Seattle

1889–1908

Fremont

1890–1901

18501940today

Hamlets and corners on the map

AdamsAlkiArbor HeightsArroyo HeightsBallardBeacon HillBella Mobile Home ParkBelltownBitter LakeBlue RidgeBriarcliffBriercrestBrightonBroadmoorBroadviewBroadwayBryantCapitol HillCarlton ParkCedar ParkChelseaColumbiaColumbia CityCrown Hill

Gone or out of use

Colman Elementary SchoolschoolKingdomelocaleNaval Air Station SeattlemilitaryWest Seattle General HospitalhospitalWhitworth Elementary Schoolschool

9cemeteries and burying grounds inside Seattle

CalvaryCrown HillEvergreen ParkEvergreen WashelliForest LawnFort Lawton MilitaryGrand Army of the RepublicLake ViewMount Pleasant

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

The story

How Seattle came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Seattle.

Read it all →

Archaeological excavations suggest that Native Americans have inhabited the Seattle area for at least 4,000 years. By the time the first European settlers arrived, the Duwamish people occupied at least 17 villages in the areas around Elliott Bay. The name for the modern city of Seattle in Lushootseed, dᶻidᶻəlal̓ič, meaning "little crossing-over place", comes from one of these villages, which was located at the present-day King Street Station.

In May 1792, George Vancouver was the first European to visit the Seattle area during his 1791–1795 expedition for the Royal Navy, which sought to chart the Pacific Northwest for the British.

Chapters19th century 20th century 21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Seattle in 1890

Passages that mention Seattle, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Seattle, thanks to the energy of her citizens, manufacturers largely, but still enough has not been done in that direction. Now that wheat is to be shipped from this port three or four large flouring mills will be needed to grind the Mdieat into flour for consumption in Seattle and other cities on … — **A wonderful city, leading all others in Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho and British Columbia**1890 · page 37Read the page →
Read the text
Seattle, thanks to the energy of her citizens, manufacturers largely, but still enough has not been done in that direction. Now that wheat is to be shipped from this port three or four large flouring mills will be needed to grind the Mdieat into flour for consumption in Seattle and other cities on the Sound, as well as in Alaska, British Columbia and China. There is a great opportunity for the flouring mill industry in this city. Several tanneries could be established to advantage here, and it would not hurt to have two or three
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Seattle, 1851 to 1953

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

19th century
1851
FoundingSeattle is established
1852Post officeThe Seattle post office opens
1854Post officeThe Alki post office opens
1855Post officeThe Alki post office closes
1860In the archivePortrait of a child, carte-de-visite photograph, circa 1860-1867
1870In the archiveJames Scott
1878Post officeThe Milton post office opens
1879Post officeThe Milton post office closes
1885In the archiveJoseph Foster, Seattle, ca. 1885
1890In the archiveChurch choir, probably between 1890 and 1910
1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
20th century
1907BuiltPike Place Public Market Historic District is built
1909BuiltAlaska Trade Building is built
1910BuiltPanama Hotel is built
1910BuiltPioneer Hall is built
1942Born hereJimi Hendrix is born here
1947Born hereLinda B. Buck is born here
1953Born herePaul Allen is born here

By decade

Seattle, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s7 items

Portrait of a child, carte-de-visite photograph, circa 1860-1867

1860Portrait of a child, carte-de-visite photograph, circ…

Portrait of a man, Jessie, carte-de-visite photograph, circa 1860-1867

1860Portrait of a man, Jessie, carte-de-visite photograph…

Portrait of a soldier, carte-de-visite photograph, circa 1860-1867

1860Portrait of a soldier, carte-de-visite photograph, ci…

Portrait of a woman, carte-de-visite photograph, circa 1860-1867

1860Portrait of a woman, carte-de-visite photograph, circ…

Portrait of a young woman, carte-de-visite photograph, circa 1860-1870s

1860Portrait of a young woman, carte-de-visite photograph…

J. R. Peefles, Ordinance Sergeant Company A, carte-de-visite photograph, 1867

1867J. R. Peefles, Ordinance Sergeant Company A, carte-de…

Portrait of Cadet Charles T. Embry, carte-de-visite photograph, 1867

1867Portrait of Cadet Charles T. Embry, carte-de-visite p…

1870s–1880s6 items

1870James Scott

c. 1875Pioneer Susan Williamson Maddocks, Seattle, circa 1875

c. 1885Joseph Foster, Seattle, ca. 1885

1886Portrait of Elizabeth Stacy, Seattle, 1886

J.R. Berry, Charles A. Kinnear, and Ed T. Powell in military uniform, Seattle, ca. 1887

c. 1887J.R. Berry, Charles A. Kinnear, and Ed T. Powell in m…

Crowd of men waiting at the dock for steamship QUEEN, Seattle, Washington, between 1889 and 1902

1889Crowd of men waiting at the dock for steamship QUEEN,…

1890s2 items

1890Church choir, probably between 1890 and 1910

Lake Union and surrounding neighborhoods from Queen Anne Hill, probably between 1890 and 1920

1890Lake Union and surrounding neighborhoods from Queen A…

1900s–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

Seattle on the map, 1894 to 1983

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

1894Seattle 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 Seattle.

Every building

Seattle, building by building, 1884–1916

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.

Seattle fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 1

1884Sheet 1 of 9

Edition

Sheets

+8 more at the Library of Congress

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.

Retake this viewPortrait of a child, carte-de-visite photograph, circa 1860-1867, 1860

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

Retake this view · +15

People over time

Seattle, census by census

Grew from 188 people in 1860 to 737,015 in 2020, more than tenfold.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

25 famous people were born in Seattle

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

See all →

Bill GatesAmerican businessman, investor, and philanthrop… · b. 1955

Jimi HendrixAmerican guitarist · b. 1942

Paul AllenAmerican businessman and philanthropist, co-fou… · b. 1953

Linda B. BuckAmerican biologist · b. 1947

Chris CornellAmerican musician · b. 1964

George StiglerAmerican economist · b. 1911

Help out

Finish Seattle’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewPortrait of a child, carte-de-visite ph…: stand where they stood+15 Share 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.

Bainbridge Island3 historic placesA⁻Mercer Island2 historic placesC⁻Tukwila2 historic placesC Kirkland8 historic placesC⁺Boulevard ParkIts storyC⁻White Center1 historic placeB Bryn Mawr-SkywayIts storyC⁻Medina2 historic placesC BurienIts storyC⁻Vashon7 historic placesB⁺

Questions about Seattle’s history

What year was Seattle founded?

In 1851, according to Wikidata. Seattle’s post office opened in 1852, and the census of 1860 counted 188 people here.

How does Seattle rank for history?

Seattle is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #12 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 Seattle?

226 listings, 8 of them National Historic Landmarks: 166 buildings, 21 historic districts with 3,017 contributing buildings, 7 sites, 31 structures, and 1 object. 3,221 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Seattle?

23% of Seattle’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1976.

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 (15), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (226), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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Seattle has 226 places on the National Register, 8 of them National Historic Landmarks

How Seattle began

When was Seattle founded?

How historic is Seattle?

What drives Seattle’s History grade

What stands out about Seattle’s past

226 listings protect 3,221 historic buildings

Architectural styles listings

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

How Seattle came to be

What they wrote about Seattle in 1890

Seattle, 1851 to 1953

Seattle, decade by decade

Seattle on the map, 1894 to 1983

Seattle, building by building, 1884–1916

Stand where they stood

Seattle, census by census

25 famous people were born in Seattle

Finish Seattle’s story

History across the town line

Questions about Seattle’s history

Memory lane

Where this page comes from