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CHistory
History · Stevenson

Stevenson’s post office opened in 1894

More historic than 27% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Stevenson was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1957 on, and the census since 1910.

1894first post office
0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Stevenson’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Stevenson began

When was Stevenson founded?

1894

The Stevenson post office opened in 1894, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 387 in 19102020 census: 1,491132 years

How historic is Stevenson?

C

More historic than 27% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Stevenson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Stevenson’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Stevenson is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns. 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 Stevenson’s overall grade.
Founding era1894, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19409.2% of homes (±4.8) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%C+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 27%
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 Stevenson’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 (±4.8 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 Stevenson’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Stevenson’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewExcursion members holding fruit baskets…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Stevenson came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Stevenson.

Read it all →

Stevenson is named for early settler George H. Stevenson. The Stevenson family, who settled in the Gorge in the 1800s from Missouri, founded the town of Stevenson on the old Shepard donation land claim. Under the auspices of the Stevenson Land Company, George Stevenson purchased the original townsite for $24,000 in 1893, building the town along the lower flat near the river. Settlers expanded the original dock to serve the daily arrivals of sternwheelers unloading passengers, cargo and loading logs.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Stevenson, 1894 to 1969

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1894Post officeThe Stevenson post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1908In the archiveExcursion members holding fruit baskets at Stevenson train station, September 1908
  5. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1969Born hereDarren Morningstar is born here
By decade

Stevenson, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Excursion members holding fruit baskets at Stevenson train station, September 19081908Excursion members holding fruit baskets at Stevenson …
1910s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today11 recent
Stevenson, WA 98648, USA - panoramio (10)2015Stevenson, WA 98648, USA - panoramio (10)Stevenson, WA 98648, USA - panoramio (1)2015Stevenson, WA 98648, USA - panoramio (1)Skamania2015SkamaniaNear Stevenson, WA, Columbia River Gorge, Burlington Northern Santa Fe ^8233 Westbound, 20082008Near Stevenson, WA, Columbia River Gorge, Burlington …Stevenson, Washington on Columbia River2007Stevenson, Washington on Columbia RiverStevenson Washington public library interior2007Stevenson Washington public library interiorStevenson Washington main street2007Stevenson Washington main streetStevenson Washington elementary school2007Stevenson Washington elementary schoolStevenson Washington city hall2007Stevenson Washington city hallColumbia River at Washington-Oregon Border2007Columbia River at Washington-Oregon BorderColumbia River at Washington-Oregon Border2007Columbia River at Washington-Oregon Border
On the map

Stevenson on the map, 1957 to 1982

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

Stevenson on the 1957 USGS mapStevenson on the 1982 USGS map1957Bonneville Dam 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 Stevenson.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Excursion members holding fruit baskets at Stevenson train station, September 1908
Retake this viewExcursion members holding fruit baskets at Stevenson train station, September 1908, 1908

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Stevenson’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Stevenson, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001920194019601980200020201,491

Grew from 387 people in 1910 to 1,491 in 2020, 3 times over.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Questions about Stevenson’s history

What year was Stevenson founded?

The Stevenson post office opened in 1894, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Stevenson rank for history?

Stevenson is more historic than 27% 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 Stevenson?

9% of Stevenson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1974.

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 Wikimedia Commons (12), 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.