The story
Read it all →How Selah came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Selah.
The name Selah originates from an indigenous word meaning "still water" or "smooth water".
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
CHistory
History · Selah
Selah’s post office opened in 1871, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 30% of U.S. towns · #131 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Below: maps from 1915 on and the census since 1930.
1871first post office
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Quick answers
How Selah began
When was Selah founded?
1871
The Selah post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1919. Another post office, Wenas (1882), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 767 in 19302020 census: 8,153155 years
How historic is Selah?
C
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 30% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Selah post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1919.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Selah’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Selah is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #131 of 285 in Washington. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Selah’s overall grade.
Founding era1871, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194011.4% of homes (±5.1) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%B−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical WA town 0.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 30%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 54%
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 Selah’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (27% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1919.
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 Selah’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Selah’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Selah’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Selah, 1871 to 1968
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Selah, decade by decade
2010
2010
2010
2008
2008
2006On the map
Selah on the map, 1958 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Selah. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1958Selah sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Selah.
Every building
Selah, building by building, 1915–1922
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.
1915Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
People over time
Selah, census by census
Grew from 767 people in 1930 to 8,153 in 2020, more than tenfold.
10 censuses, 1930–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Selah’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices
Selah’s post office has been open since 1871. Another post office, Wenas, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Selah
Wenas
18701950today
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.
Questions about Selah’s history
What year was Selah founded?
The Selah post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1919.
How does Selah rank for history?
Selah is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #131 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.
How old are the homes in Selah?
11% of Selah’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1990.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (6), 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.