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History · Thorp

Thorp dates to 1868, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Thorp Mill and the Thorp Grade School. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1958 on, and the census since 2000.

1868founded
2on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Thorp’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Thorp began

When was Thorp founded?

1868

Thorp dates its founding to 1868 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 2000.

First census: 273 in 20002020 census: 232158 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1891.The full story ↓

What stands out about Thorp’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 Thorp’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Thorp’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 viewThorpTrainNo255ca1900: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Thorp came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Thorp.

Read it all →

The Kittitas Valley was occupied by the Kittitas (Yakama Ichishkíin Sínwit: Ki-tatash) or Upper Yakama tribe, as well as hunting and food gathering parties of Cayuse and Nez Perce. The area was rich in wild berries, fish and game, and neighboring tribes annually converged on the valley in April or May to harvest Indian onions (Allium spp.), Indian potatoes (Claytonia lanceolata), and breadroot (Lomatium canbyi). The various tribes engaged in horse trading with early British and American fur traders, and had peaceful relations with Jesuit Catholic missionaries who preceded them.

ChaptersNative AmericansThorp pioneersMill town and railroad eraBoomtown and beyondThorp CemeteryChurches

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Thorp, 1868 to 1958

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868
    FoundingThorp is established
  3. 1883BuiltThorp Mill is built
  4. 1891Post officeThe Thorp post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900In the archiveThorpTrainNo255ca1900
  7. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Thorp, decade by decade

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

1900s1 item
ThorpTrainNo255ca1900c. 1900ThorpTrainNo255ca1900
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
Snow accident, Interstate 902016Snow accident, Interstate 90Thorp Mill2012Thorp MillThorpMill12011ThorpMill1ThorpHighSchoolCrest12011ThorpHighSchoolCrest1ThorpHaywagon2011ThorpHaywagonThorpWA-52009ThorpWA-5ThorpWA-42009ThorpWA-4Thorp Gristmill Weir2008Thorp Gristmill WeirThorp Gristmill Turbine Wheel2008Thorp Gristmill Turbine WheelThorpWA-3ca19152007ThorpWA-3ca1915ThorpThorpDepotca19402007ThorpThorpDepotca1940
On the map

Thorp on the map in 1958

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Thorp.

Thorp on the 1958 USGS map1958Thorp sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Thorp.

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.

ThorpTrainNo255ca1900
Retake this viewThorpTrainNo255ca1900, c. 1900

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Thorp

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Thorp Mill
Thorp Mill, built 1883Thorp Grade School
BuildingsSites

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival1
Thorp MillBuilt 1883
Thorp Grade SchoolColonial Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Thorp, census by census

010020030020002020Peak: 273

Between 232 and 273 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Thorp

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

See all →
Kyle MacLachlanAmerican actor · b. 1959
Robert LucasAmerican economist · b. 1937
Dick ScobeeAmerican astronaut · b. 1939
Mark LaneganAmerican singer · b. 1964
Brian ThompsonAmerican actor · b. 1959
Jim RohnAmerican motivational speaker, businessman and … · b. 1930

Questions about Thorp’s history

What year was Thorp founded?

In 1868, according to Wikidata. Thorp’s post office opened in 1891, and the census of 2000 counted 273 people here.

What is on the National Register in Thorp?

Two places: the Thorp Mill (listed 1977) and the Thorp Grade School (2009).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.