Most of West Richland was built recently: 0.3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1960.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives West Richland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West Richland is among the newest of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of West Richland’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 West Richland’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 D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.3 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1955.
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 West Richland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The original people of the region were the Chemnapum Indians (closely related to the Wanapum tribe), living near the mouth of the Yakima River. Lewis and Clark passed through the area in 1805, and an expedition of the Army Corps of Topographical Engineers headed by Robert E Johnson mapped the Yakima Valley in 1841.
In 1853, a road was authorized by Congress to pass through the Yakima Valley, and passed through present-day West Richland; however, settlement did not properly begin until the late 1870s. The first schoolhouse was built in 1896 on the Van Horn Property just south of what is now Van Giesen Street. Benton County was created in 1905, Richland was incorporated in 1906, and the West Richland area was known as 'Lower Yakima'.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of West Richland. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1951Richland 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 West Richland.
People over time
West Richland, census by census
Grew from 1,347 people in 1960 to 16,295 in 2020, more than tenfold.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on West Richland’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to West Richland
Nobody well known was born in West Richland itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1955, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1960 counted 1,347 people here.
How does West Richland rank for history?
West Richland is among the newest 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 West Richland?
0.3% of West Richland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 2001.
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 (12), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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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