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History · Chico

Chico’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Chico. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Chico is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. Named in 1889 for a Suquamish head chief, Chico is located on the Dyes Inlet waterfront, south of Silverdale. At the 2020 census the community had a population of 2,723.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,259 to 2,723 (+21%). Half of its homes were built before 1987.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Chico yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Chico’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people close to Chico

See all 12 →
Dove CameronDove CameronBainbridge Island · 10 miMadelaine PetschMadelaine PetschPort Orchard · 7 miMike EnziMike EnziBremerton · 6 miNathan AdrianNathan AdrianBremerton · 6 miJon Brower MinnochJon Brower MinnochBainbridge Island · 10 miBen GibbardBen GibbardBremerton · 6 mi
By decade

Chico, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Chico is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Chico has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Jackson Hall Memorial Community Hall in Silverdale, 2.4 miles away.

Chico and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Chico. Tap a dot.
Jackson Hall Memorial Community HallShelbanksUS Post Office-Port Townsend MainMarine Reservation Historic DistrictHospital Reservation Historic DistrictPuget Sound Radio Station Historic District

Closest to Chico

Jackson Hall Memorial Community HallSilverdale · Built 19362.4miShelbanksBremerton · Built 19063.7miUS Post Office-Port Townsend MainBremerton · Building4.3miMarine Reservation Historic DistrictBremerton · District5.3miHospital Reservation Historic DistrictBremerton · District5.4mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Jackson Hall Memorial Community Hall’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Chico?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Chico’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Bremerton📜 Port Orchard📜 Poulsbo📜 Bainbridge Island
We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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