More historic than 18% of U.S. towns · #189 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Spanaway was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1941 on, and the census since 1970.
The Spanaway post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Lake Park (1890), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 5,768 in 19702020 census: 35,476168 years
How historic is Spanaway?
C−
More historic than 18% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Spanaway post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Spanaway’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Spanaway is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #189 of 285 in Washington. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Spanaway’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 Spanaway’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 (±1.2 points) is firm at this size. 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 Spanaway’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone
Spanaway’s post office has been open since 1858. Another post office, Lake Park, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Spanaway
1858–today
Lake Park
1890–1897
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Coach Country Corral Mobile Home ParkCountry Mobile EstatesEnchanted Firs Mobile Home ParkFox Chase Mobile Home ParkLakeside Terrace Mobile Home ParkLovelandLoveland Mobile EstatesMountain Valley Mobile Home ParkParklane Court Mobile Home ParkPonderosa Mobile Home ParkRanier West Mobile Home ParkSpanaway Mobile VillageTwin Firs Mobile Home ParkWinchester Village Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Spanaway Airportairport
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Spanaway’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Spanaway’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
The Hudson's Bay Company, headquartered at Fort Nisqually, had control of this region until 1863. Company maps and journals show the company's subsidiary, the Pugets Sound Agricultural Company, raised cattle, grain, and sheep at "Spanueh Station" on the south and east shores of "Spanueh Lake." Spanueh is the Hudson Bay Company's spelling of the native Lushootseed spadue, which means "dug roots" referring to an area where camas and other edible roots can be found. Lushootseed underwent a loss of nasal consonants in the 1800s, so "Spanueh" simply transcribes an older pronunciation of what is now "Spadue".
Passages that mention Spanaway, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Pierce County Washington1927 · page 429Read the page →
Read the text
ing in Chicago, Illinois, where he was married in 1869, his wife having come to this country in 1862. They lived in Chicago about a year after their marriage and then came to the Pacific coast, settling in Steilacoom, Washington, in 1870. He homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land at Spanaway lake, and later added more land by purchase, becoming the owner of two hundred and ten acres, including the townsite of Spanaway. On his arrival here he built a small log house and four years later built the first frame house in that part of the county. _He raised garden truck for the garrison at Fort Steilacoom, which he also supplied with butter and eggs. He
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Pierce County Washington1927 · page 569Read the page →
Read the text
Frank T. Niesen secured a good public school education, and then learned the carpenter and cabinetmaking trades in Tacoma, following that line of work for twenty years. About 1920 he bought a truck and operated a freight business between Spanaway and Tacoma for about six years. He then engaged in the wood business in Spanaway and is meeting with very satisfactory success. He is an energetic man, giving close attention to his business, which is enjoying a steady and substantial rowth.
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
Spanaway, 1858 to 2000
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 Spanaway post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Spanaway rank for history?
Spanaway is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #189 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 Spanaway?
3% of Spanaway’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1989.
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 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.
c. 1907
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