Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 77% of U.S. towns · #15 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 56 buildings. Below: 14 old photos and papers, maps from 1957 on, and the census since 1900.
Sedro-Woolley dates its founding to 1898 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.
More historic than 77% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sedro-Woolley is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #15 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 Sedro-Woolley’s 44.4 sits above most of its state (94% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 57 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Drag across each photo to compare.
1903Today5 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
c. 1884Sedro -Woolley, Washington, ca. 1884
1890Group of people gathered on and around large cedar tr…
1890Group of people seated on and around large cedar stum…
1893072 Seattle and Washington views, 1893
c. 1894Man seated outside of log house, Sedro Woolley, ca. 1…
c. 1894People standing in and around large fir tree stump, S…
c. 1894Shed,logs and unidentified man with dogs along the Sk…From Wikipedia’s history of Sedro-Woolley.
Incorporated on December 19, 1898, Sedro-Woolley was formed from neighboring rival towns of Sedro (once known as Bug) and Woolley in Skagit County, northwestern Washington, 25 miles (40 kilometres) inland from Puget Sound, 40 miles (64 kilometres) south of the border with Canada and 65 miles (105 kilometres) north of Seattle.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archiveSedro -Woolley, Washington, ca. 1884In the archiveGroup of people gathered on and around large cedar tree stump, Sedro Woolley, ca. 1893
In the archivePost office, Sedro-Woolley, Washington, March 17, 1903
In the archiveCollection of Indian baskets, primarily from the Pacific Northwest, ca. 1920
BuiltUS Post Office-Sedro Woolley Main is built
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archiveBarber sign, Metcalf Street, Sedro Woolley, WashingtonThe U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sedro-Woolley.
1957Victoria sheet · 1:250,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Sedro-Woolley.
Grew from 885 people in 1900 to 12,421 in 2020, more than tenfold.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Sedro-Woolley’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Sedro-Woolley’s post office has been open since 1899.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
In 1898, according to Wikidata. Sedro-Woolley’s post office opened in 1899, and the census of 1900 counted 885 people here.
Sedro-Woolley is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #15 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.
Two places: the US Post Office-Sedro Woolley Main (listed 1991) and the Northern State Hospital (2010).
22% of Sedro-Woolley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1984.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (17), Wikidata (1), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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c. 1926
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