Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1890.
The Tekoa post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
1890Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Peaked at 1,694 in 1910; 817 people lived here in 2020.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Tekoa’s Wikipedia page.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Tekoa. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Tekoa.
From Wikipedia’s history of Tekoa.
The area that includes the present-day city of Tekoa was settled by the Coeur d'Alene people. In 1886, David A. Huffman and George T. Huffman settled there. The townsite was platted in 1888 and was named after the Biblical town.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archiveChase and Higbee cousins, Tekoa, Washington, circa 1900 - DPLA - 4d6f95d0ee672d908f10e1c6…
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereMildred Bailey is born here
In the archiveGrammar School, Tekoa, Washington, circa 1910 - DPLA - 5d6494ce7ecc4a7ead6d809f83c59c5f
In the archiveCongregational Church, Tekoa, Washington, circa 1920 - DPLA - a34aa8f5e023fcb5021d8f57c87…
Born hereKeith King is born here3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
c. 1900Chase and Higbee cousins, Tekoa, Washington, circa 19…Postcard
1909Parade float, Tekoa, Washington, 1909 - DPLA - 73576d…Postcard
1909Street scene in Tekoa, Washington, 1909 - DPLA - 2532…Postcard
1909Tekoa, Washington, 1909 - DPLA - 84682be60a9e4118bf18…Postcardc. 1910Grammar School, Tekoa, Washington, circa 1910 - DPLA …Postcard
c. 1910Hotel Tekoa, Tekoa, Washington, circa 1910 - DPLA - 9…Postcard
1910Parade band, Tekoa, Washington, 1910 - DPLA - 17ba025…Postcard
c. 1910Tekoa, Washington business district, circa 1910 - DPL…Postcard
c. 1910Town view of Tekoa, Washington, circa 1910 - DPLA - c…Postcard
c. 1914St. Joseph's Catholic Academy, Tekoa, Washington, cir…Postcard
1915Panoramic Town View, circa 1915No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Tekoa’s page.
Retake this view · +15Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
The Tekoa post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
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), 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.
