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History · Roy

Roy’s history is
mostly unwritten

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

0old images & papers
18recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Roy was officially incorporated on January 16, 1908. It is a rural city outside Tacoma and primarily features ranch-style homes and farms. Roy was one of the early communities in the area, a prosperous boom-town and a major stop on the railroad line. But 3 major blows reduced this once-thriving town to its current form. A major fire in 1929 wiped out most of the downtown businesses just before the Depression started. The railroad eventually discontinued using Roy as a main stop. The Army annexed most of the surrounding land to the north and west, limiting expansion and the local tax base, and erasing the nearby community of Loveland.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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

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Famous people from Roy

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CCCecelia Svinth CarpenterWriting & Arts
By decade

Roy, 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
Today18 photos
RR building 1607CommonsRR building 16072024Old Red School 1624CommonsOld Red School 16242024Modified shop 1620CommonsModified shop 16202024Missionary Church 1605CommonsMissionary Church 16052024Elementary School 1625CommonsElementary School 16252024Copper Gables Barn 1627CommonsCopper Gables Barn 16272024Copper Gables Barn 1621CommonsCopper Gables Barn 16212024City Hall 1604CommonsCity Hall 16042024Steakhouse Saloon 4199CommonsSteakhouse Saloon 41992023Roy 4195CommonsRoy 41952023Roy, WA — South Pierce Fire and Rescue No. 17, Station 171, (2022-03-18), 02CommonsRoy, WA — South Pierce Fire and Rescue No. 17, Station 171,…2022Roy, WA — South Pierce Fire and Rescue No. 17, Station 171, (2022-03-18), 01CommonsRoy, WA — South Pierce Fire and Rescue No. 17, Station 171,…2022Roy, WA — Roy Elementary School (2022-03-18)CommonsRoy, WA — Roy Elementary School (2022-03-18)2022Roy, WA — McNaught Rd S (2022-03-18), 03CommonsRoy, WA — McNaught Rd S (2022-03-18), 032022Roy, WA — McNaught Rd S (2022-03-18), 02CommonsRoy, WA — McNaught Rd S (2022-03-18), 022022Roy, WA — McNaught Rd S (2022-03-18), 01CommonsRoy, WA — McNaught Rd S (2022-03-18), 012022Roy, WashingtonCommonsRoy, Washington2007Roy, WashingtonCommonsRoy, Washington2006
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Roy is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Roy has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Salsich Lumber Company Superintendent's House in Yelm, 4.3 miles away.

Roy and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Roy. Tap a dot.
Salsich Lumber Company Superintendent's HouseL. N. Rice HouseRed Shield InnDuPont Village Historic DistrictWoodbrook Hunt ClubNisqually School

Closest to Roy

Salsich Lumber Company Superintendent's HouseYelm · Built 19104.3miL. N. Rice HouseMcKenna · Built 19085.8miRed Shield InnFort Lewis · Built 19717.9miDuPont Village Historic DistrictDuPont · District8.5miWoodbrook Hunt ClubLakewood · Building9mi

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. Salsich Lumber Company Superintendent's House’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Roy?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Roy’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
📜 Yelm📜 DuPont📜 Rainier📜 Lakewood

From Wikimedia Commons (18). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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