Vancouver dates to 1825, and 21 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns · #23 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Vancouver was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. 21 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 74 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1850.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Vancouver’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Vancouver is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #23 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Vancouver’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Vancouver ranks #162 on History.
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 Vancouver’s 5.0 sits above most of its state (76% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 98 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1825.
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 Vancouver’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Vancouver area was inhabited by several Native American tribes, most recently the Chinook and Klickitat nations, with permanent settlements of timber longhouses. The Chinookan and Klickitat names for the area were reportedly Skit-so-to-ho and Ala-si-kas, respectively, meaning 'land of the mud-turtles'. First known European contact was made by William Robert Broughton in 1792, with approximately half of the indigenous population killed by smallpox before the Lewis and Clark Expedition arrived in the area in 1806. Within another fifty years, other diseases such as measles, malaria and influenza had reduced the Chinookan population from an estimated 80,000 "to a few dozen refugees, landless, slaveless and swindled out of a treaty".
Passages that mention Vancouver, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of the Puget Sound country, its resources, its commerce and its people1903 · page 578Read the page →
Read the text
and time has shown the wisdom of Ins choice of a location, for in this section of the country he has steadily progressed along business lines, and is nowprospering as the assistant cashier of the State Bank of Shelton. He first located in Vancouver, Washington, where he was engaged in the abstract business for three years, and later was in the state land office in Olympia, filling the position of chief clerk under the commissioner of public lands. In 1896 he went east of the mountains, and in 1898 was employed by the Simpson Logging Company, for whom he went to Alaska in 1899 in charge of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of the Puget Sound country, its resources, its commerce and its people1903Read the page →
Read the text
After a few weeks at Vancouver, Mr. Meyer, with a detachment of soldiers, came up to the hay where Steilacoom, one of the oldest towns in Washington, has since been built. Here he helped to build Fori Steilacoom and raised the United States 1! it. This fort occupied the present site of the state insane asylum, lie also, with Mr. Balch, another noted oldtimer, built the first house in the town of Steilacoom. During the Indian wars in this vicinity the fort became well known, and General Grant spent several weeks there.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Vancouver, 1825 to 1978
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born 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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Vancouver. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1897Portland 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 Vancouver.
Every building
Vancouver, building by building, 1884–1911
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.
1884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
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 viewSaint James College (1889) (ADVERT 158), 1889
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Vancouver’s page.
In 1825, according to Wikidata. Vancouver’s post office opened in 1850, and the census of 1880 counted 1,722 people here.
How does Vancouver rank for history?
Vancouver is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #23 of 285 in Washington. 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.
What is on the National Register in Vancouver?
21 listings: 17 buildings, 3 historic districts, the Officers Row, Fort Vancouver Barracks, the Washington School for the Blind and the Vancouver National Historic Reserve Historic District, with 74 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 1 structure. 98 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Vancouver?
5% of Vancouver’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1988.
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), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (22), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1901
