Albany dates to 1846, and 19 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 81% of U.S. towns · #9 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it
Most of Albany was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. 19 places in town are on the National Register, among them five historic districts with 400 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1850.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Albany’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Albany is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #9 of 142 in Oregon. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Albany’s overall grade.
Oregon towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Oregon town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Albany’s 73.0 sits above most of its state (92% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 415 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share (±1.3 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1846.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Albany’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In the historical era, the area of the Willamette Valley that makes up modern-day Albany was inhabited by one of the tribes of the Kalapuya, a Penutian-speaking, Native American people. The Kalapuya had named the area Takenah, a Kalapuyan word used to describe the deep pool at the confluence of the Calapooia and Willamette rivers. A variation of the place name can also be written as Tekenah.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Albany. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1912Jefferson sheet · 1:31,680
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Albany.
Every building
Albany, building by building, 1884–1908
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.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Albany’s post office has been open since 1850. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Albany
1850–today
New Albany
1850–1853
Enterprise
1878–1880
Hoffman
1897–1898
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
DrapervilleNorth Albany
Gone or out of use
Albany C and E DepotlocaleAlbany Lumber and SupplylocaleAlbany Lumber CompanylocaleC and E CrossinglocaleCooverlocaleEnterprise Post Officepost officeFromanlocaleHoffman Post Officepost officeLeanderlocaleLinnorelocaleMadison SchoolschoolMaple SchoolschoolNorth AlbanylocaleWentworthlocale
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Albany
HoustonMasonicRiversideTimber - Linn Memorial ParkWaverly Memorial
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1846, according to Wikidata. Albany’s post office opened in 1850, and the census of 1870 counted 1,292 people here.
How does Albany rank for history?
Albany is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #9 of 142 in Oregon. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Albany?
19 listings: 14 buildings, among them the Monteith,Thomas and Walter,House (listed 1975, the first), 5 historic districts with 400 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 415 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Albany?
7% of Albany’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1983.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (20), 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.
