The story
Read it all →How Oakland came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Oakland.
In 1859, the city was named for its many oak trees by pioneer William Radford.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Oakland
Oakland’s post office opened in 1887, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 43 buildings.
1887first post office
4on the National Register
38%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Oakland began
When was Oakland founded?
1887
The Oakland post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Oakland Station (1860), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
2020 census: 198139 years
Founding year: the first Oakland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Oakland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Oakland’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Oakland’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the National Register
4 listings protect 46 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
46
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Jesse Middleton House
BuildingsDistricts
Architectural styles listings
Federal2
Late 19th and Early 20th Century1
All 4 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Timeline
Oakland, 1860 to 1887
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Oakland, decade by decade
Today2 recent
2017
2014Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Oakland
Nobody well known was born in Oakland itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
D
Diane SawyerAmerican journalist · b. 1945
B
Bill PopeAmerican cinematographer · b. 1952Places that used to be
Lost post offices
Oakland’s post office has been open since 1887. Another post office, Oakland Station, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Oakland Station
Oakland
18601940today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Oakland’s history
What year was Oakland founded?
The Oakland post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What is on the National Register in Oakland?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Jesse Middleton House (listed 1979, the first), and 1 historic district, the Oakland-Freeport Historic District, with 43 contributing buildings. 46 historic buildings in all.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, 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.