Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1898.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Twisp’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Twisp is more historic than 29% 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 Twisp’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 Twisp’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 (±7.3 points). Two sources give 1897.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Twisp’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
On July 30, 1897, Henry C. Glover platted a town in the Methow Valley he called Gloversville, in which a small store and post office were soon established. In 1898, Glover became postmaster of the town, which was now called Twisp, the origin of which is unclear. The common explanation is that it comes from the Okanagan placename txʷəc'p, which possibly translates to wasp, yellowjacket, or the sound made by a wasp. On June 29, 1899, Amanda P. Burgar platted the town of Twisp adjacent to the original Gloversville site, which was thereafter considered part of Twisp.
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.
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.
In 1897, according to Wikidata. Twisp’s post office opened in 1898, and the census of 1910 counted 227 people here.
How does Twisp rank for history?
Twisp is more historic than 29% 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 Twisp?
10% of Twisp’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.3 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (18), 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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