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C−History
History · South Wenatchee

South Wenatchee’s post office opened in 1925, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1913 on and the census since 1980.

1925first post office
0on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How South Wenatchee began

When was South Wenatchee founded?

1925

The South Wenatchee post office opened in 1925, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,376 in 19802020 census: 1,522101 years

How historic is South Wenatchee?

C−

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first South Wenatchee post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives South Wenatchee’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, South Wenatchee is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of South Wenatchee’s overall grade.
Founding era1925, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194013.0% of homes (±7.1) · 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 20%
NewerOlder

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 South Wenatchee’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 D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 South Wenatchee’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of South Wenatchee are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19135 editions of the USGS map, 1913 to 2003. Watch South Wenatchee change.Old housesHalf of South Wenatchee’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start South Wenatchee’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how South Wenatchee’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

South Wenatchee on the map, 1913 to 2003

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

South Wenatchee on the 1913 USGS mapSouth Wenatchee on the 1966 USGS mapSouth Wenatchee on the 1978 USGS mapSouth Wenatchee on the 1987 USGS mapSouth Wenatchee on the 2003 USGS map1913Wenatchee 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 South Wenatchee.

The story so far

South Wenatchee, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of South Wenatchee yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

South Wenatchee is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Chelan County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Wenatchee–East Wenatchee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,522 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1925. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,553 in 2010, 1,522 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

South Wenatchee, 1913 to 1956

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1913On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1925Post officeThe South Wenatchee post office opens
  4. 1956Post officeThe South Wenatchee post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
People over time

South Wenatchee, census by census

05001,0001,5002,000198020002020Peak: 1,991

Between 1,207 and 1,991 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to South Wenatchee

Nobody well known was born in South Wenatchee itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Dick ScobeeAmerican astronaut · b. 1939
Mark LaneganAmerican singer · b. 1964
Brian ThompsonAmerican actor · b. 1959
Tyler FarrarAmerican road bicycle racer · b. 1984
Byron BeckAmerican basketball player · b. 1945
Noreen NashAmerican film and television actress · b. 1924
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

South Wenatchee had its own post office from 1925 to 1956.

South Wenatchee
1925–1956
19201970today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Appleyard
Gone or out of use
South Wenatchee Schoolschool

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.

Wenatchee10 historic placesB+

Questions about South Wenatchee’s history

What year was South Wenatchee founded?

The South Wenatchee post office opened in 1925, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does South Wenatchee rank for history?

South Wenatchee is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns. 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 South Wenatchee?

13% of South Wenatchee’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1964.

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 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.