History · Tonasket

Tonasket’s post office opened in 1895, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1922 on, and the census since 1930.

1895first post office

0on the National Register

22%homes built before 1940

1old photo or paper

3famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Tonasket’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Tonasket began

When was Tonasket founded?

1895

The Tonasket post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1927.

First census: 513 in 19302020 census: 1,103131 years

How historic is Tonasket?

C⁺

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Tonasket post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1927.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Tonasket’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tonasket is more historic than 42% 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 Tonasket’s overall grade.

Founding era1895, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC⁺Homes built before 194021.8% of homes (±7.7) · 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 42%

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 Tonasket’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 B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1927.

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 Tonasket’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.Old housesHalf of Tonasket’s homes were built before 1963.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Tonasket’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tonasket’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 viewGold Lake Lodge: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

The story

How Tonasket came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Tonasket.

Read it all →

Tonasket was officially incorporated on December 16, 1927. It is named after Chief Tonasket of the Okanogan people, a local leader from this area who assumed the status of grand chief of the American Okanogan after the drawing of the Canada–United States border by the Oregon Treaty of 1846, assuming a leadership role in Okanogan territory formerly held by Chief Nicola who lived north of the border.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Tonasket, 1895 to 1979

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

19th century
1895Post officeThe Tonasket post office opens
20th century
1913In the archiveGold Lake Lodge
1935Born hereDean Rhoads is born here
1942Born hereMike Melinkovich is born here
1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1979Born hereWendy J. Fox is born here

By decade

Tonasket, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item

1913Gold Lake Lodge

1920s–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

Today3 recent

2026Sinlahekin Fire Smoke Cloud

2008Tonasket Library

2004WAMap-doton-Tonasket

On the map

Tonasket on the map, 1957 to 1981

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

1957Tonasket 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 Tonasket.

Every building

Tonasket, building by building, 1922

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 sheet.

Tonasket fire insurance map, 1922, sheet 1

1922Sheet 1 of 3

Sheets

+2 more at the Library of Congress

BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Retake this viewGold Lake Lodge, 1913

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

Retake this view · +15

People over time

Tonasket, census by census

Grew from 513 people in 1930 to 1,103 in 2020.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Tonasket

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →

Wendy J. FoxAmerican writer · b. 1979

Dean RhoadsAmerican politician · b. 1935

Mike MelinkovichAmerican football defensive end · b. 1942

Questions about Tonasket’s history

What year was Tonasket founded?

The Tonasket post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1927.

How does Tonasket rank for history?

Tonasket is more historic than 42% 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 Tonasket?

22% of Tonasket’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1963.

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 (4), 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.

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