Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 87% of U.S. towns. What drives it
6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 17 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1907 on.
Waterville dates its founding to 1883 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1887.
More historic than 87% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Waterville is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 Waterville’s 200 sits above most of its state (98% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 25 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Waterville’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Waterville.
The area Waterville occupies was settled in 1883 by A.T. Greene. In 1886 he successfully encouraged land donations and the town was established under the name "Jumper's Flat." After the discovery of a large water reservoir underneath Greene's farm, the town was renamed to "Waterville."
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereJack Friel is born hereBuiltWaterville Hotel is builtBuiltWilliam J. Canton House is built
In the archiveThreshing wheat at harvest time, near Waterville, ca. 1907One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
No 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 Waterville’s page.
Retake this view · +15Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
In 1883, according to Wikidata. Waterville’s post office opened in 1887.
Waterville is more historic than 87% 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.
6 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Douglas County Courthouse (listed 1975, the first), and 1 historic district, the Downtown Waterville Historic District, with 17 contributing buildings. 25 historic buildings in all.
47% of Waterville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.5 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1941.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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