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History · Wilbur

Wilbur was first counted by the census in 1890, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1890 on and the census since 1890.

1890first census
0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: afiler · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Wilbur began

When was Wilbur founded?

1890

Wilbur first appears in the census in 1890.

First census: 410 in 18902020 census: 895136 years
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

What stands out about Wilbur’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Wilbur are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1890 to 1930, drew every building in Wilbur.Old housesHalf of Wilbur’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wilbur’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wilbur’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Wilbur, building by building, 1890–1930

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.

Wilbur fire insurance map, 1890, sheet 11890Sheet 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.

The story

How Wilbur came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wilbur.

Read it all →

Just prior to the construction of the Central Washington Railroad line in 1889, no towns existed west of Davenport in Lincoln County. One place along the line, "Wild Goose Bill's Ranch," run by Samuel Wilbur Condit, was assigned a post office by the Federal government. Condit was 62 years old and known throughout the region as Wild Goose Bill when he and another man shot each other to death on January 21, 1895. The town was originally named "Goosetown" in his honor, however, after the local blacksmith's wife complained that she would never live somewhere with such a silly name, the town was christened "Wilbur" in 1889.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wilbur, 1890 to 1989

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890Post officeThe Wilbur post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1939Born hereDavid Ray Griffin is born here
  5. 1989On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Wilbur, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Wilbur, Washington2008Wilbur, WashingtonWilbur, Washington2008Wilbur, WashingtonWilbur, Washington2008Wilbur, WashingtonWilbur, Washington2008Wilbur, WashingtonWilbur, Washington2008Wilbur, WashingtonWilbur, Washington2008Wilbur, WashingtonWilbur, Washington2008Wilbur, WashingtonWilbur, Washington2008Wilbur, WashingtonWilbur, Washington2008Wilbur, WashingtonWilbur, Washington2008Wilbur, WashingtonWilbur, WA2008Wilbur, WAWAMap-doton-Wilbur2004WAMap-doton-Wilbur
On the map

Wilbur on the map in 1989

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Wilbur.

Wilbur on the 1989 USGS map1989Wilbur sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Wilbur.

People over time

Wilbur, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,138

Between 410 and 1,138 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Questions about Wilbur’s history

What year was Wilbur founded?

The Wilbur post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (12), 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.