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History · Adrian

Adrian’s post office opened in 1919, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1906 on, and the census since 1980.

1919first post office
0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Adrian’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Adrian began

When was Adrian founded?

1919

The Adrian post office opened in 1919, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1972. Another post office, Riverview (1911), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 162 in 19802020 census: 157107 years
Founding year: the first Adrian post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1972.The full story ↓

What stands out about Adrian’s past

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

On the map since 19063 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1993. Watch Adrian change.
★ What stands out · On the map

Adrian on the map, 1906 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Adrian. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Adrian on the 1906 USGS mapAdrian on the 1967 USGS mapAdrian on the 1993 USGS map1906Mitchell Butte sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Adrian came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Adrian.

Read it all →

In 1913, the Oregon Short Line Railroad built a branch into this part of Malheur County. There was a post office called Riverview on the east side of the Snake River and because the railroad did not want a station of the same name on the west side, the name "Adrian" was suggested by Reuben McCreary, who platted the townsite. The name was chosen to honor his birthplace, Adrian, Illinois. Riverview post office was established in 1911, but moved across the river in 1915 and the name changed to Adrian in 1919. It was previously thought that the city was named for James Adrian, a sheep rancher, but he did not arrive in the area until 1916.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Adrian, 1906 to 1941

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1911Post officeThe Riverview post office opens
  4. 1919Post officeThe Riverview post office closes
  5. 1919Post officeThe Adrian post office opens
  6. 1941In the archiveSchoolgirls at the 4H Club Spring fair. Adrian, Oregon
By decade

Adrian, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s10 items
Schoolgirls at the 4H Club Spring fair. Adrian, Oregon1941Schoolgirls at the 4H Club Spring fair. Adrian, OregonEntertainment at the 4-H Club Spring fair. Adrian, Oregon1941Entertainment at the 4-H Club Spring fair. Adrian, Or…Refreshments at the 4-H Club Spring fair. Adrian, Oregon1941Refreshments at the 4-H Club Spring fair. Adrian, Ore…Mother and child at 4-H Club Spring fair. Adrian, Oregon1941Mother and child at 4-H Club Spring fair. Adrian, Ore…Schoolchildren and their mothers at the 4-H Club Spring fair. Adrian, Oregon1941Schoolchildren and their mothers at the 4-H Club Spri…School girls demonstrating cooking methods at 4-H Club Spring fair. Adrian, Oregon1941School girls demonstrating cooking methods at 4-H Clu…Schoolgirls give a musical number at the 4-H Club Spring fair. Adrian, Oregon1941Schoolgirls give a musical number at the 4-H Club Spr…Schoolgirls give a musical number at the 4-H Club Spring fair. Adrian, Oregon1941Schoolgirls give a musical number at the 4-H Club Spr…Style show by schoolgirls of dresses they made. 4-H Club Spring fair. Adrian, Oregon1941Style show by schoolgirls of dresses they made. 4-H C…Schoolchildren and their mothers looking at handwork at the 4-H Club Spring fair. Adrian, Oregon1941Schoolchildren and their mothers looking at handwork …
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Schoolgirls at the 4H Club Spring fair. Adrian, Oregon
Retake this viewSchoolgirls at the 4H Club Spring fair. Adrian, Oregon, 1941

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Adrian’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Adrian, census by census

0100198020002020Peak: 177

Between 131 and 177 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Adrian’s post office has been open since 1919. Another post office, Riverview, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Riverview
1911–1919
Adrian
1919–today
19101970today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Adrian’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewSchoolgirls at the 4H Club Spring fair.…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Adrian’s history

What year was Adrian founded?

The Adrian post office opened in 1919, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1972.

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 the Library of Congress (10), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via 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.