Snoqualmie’s post office opened in 1870, and 6 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns · #57 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Snoqualmie was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2005. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 5 buildings. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1908 on, and the census since 1910.
How Snoqualmie began, and where its name came from
When was Snoqualmie founded?
1870
The Snoqualmie post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1889. Another post office, Snoqualmie Falls (1916), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 279 in 19102020 census: 14,121156 years
How did Snoqualmie get its name?
It is an Anglicization of the Lushootseed name sdukʷalbixʷ, which means "people of the moon".
How historic is Snoqualmie?
B−
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Snoqualmie is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #57 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Snoqualmie’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 Snoqualmie’s 9.4 sits above most of its state (84% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 13 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% 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 (±2.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1889 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Snoqualmie’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The second written record of the exploration of the Snoqualmie Valley comes from the notes of Samuel Hancock, who ventured up-river with the Snoqualmie tribe in 1851 in search of coal. Near the current location of Meadowbrook Bridge, Hancock was told by his guides that the land was known as Hyas Kloshe Illahee, or "good/productive land". Hancock took this useful information back with him to the area now known as Tacoma. The area that is now Snoqualmie had been continuously occupied by members of the Snoqualmie Tribe and their ancestors for at least 13,000 years.
Passages that mention Snoqualmie, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History and progress of King County, Washington ..1916Read the page →
Read the text
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroads arrived in Seattle March 19, 1909. They used the Snoqualmie Pass. Without any flourish of trumpets the road commenced its western journey on April 15, 1906 and in 1909 the last rail was laid and the line put in operation, a feat in railroad construction
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
Snoqualmie, 1870 to 1993
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The Snoqualmie post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1889.
How does Snoqualmie rank for history?
Snoqualmie is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #57 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 Snoqualmie?
6 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Snoqualmie Depot (listed 1974, the first), 1 historic district, the Snoqualmie Falls Hydroelectric Power Plant Historic District, with 5 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 2 structures. 13 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Snoqualmie?
7% of Snoqualmie’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 2005.
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 the Library of Congress (10), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (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, 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.
Date?
Date?
Date?
Date?
Date?
Date?
Date?
Date?
Date?
