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History · Barlow

Barlow’s post office opened in 1871, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1910.

1871first post office
0on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Barlow’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Barlow began

When was Barlow founded?

1871

The Barlow post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1903.

First census: 69 in 19102020 census: 133155 years
Founding year: the first Barlow post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1903.The full story ↓

What stands out about Barlow’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1910 and 1930, then grew 3-fold.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Barlow’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewWilliam: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Barlow, census by census

010019201940196019802000202069 in 1910Low: 40

Lost a third of its people between 1910 and 1930, then grew 3-fold.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Barlow came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Barlow.

Read it all →

Barlow is named for William Barlow, the son of Samuel K. Barlow (developer of the Barlow Road). Samuel bought the donation land claim in which Barlow is located from Thomas McKay on September 17, 1850. He later sold the land to William.

In 1870, the railroad was built through Barlow. The station was originally named Barlows (for William, not Samuel). As of 2003, the main line of the Union Pacific Railroad still ran through Barlow.

The post office at Barlow was opened on February 7, 1871. It closed on January 3, 1975.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Barlow, 1871 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Barlow post office opens
  3. 1886Born hereLilla Irvin Leach is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1903In the archiveWilliam
  6. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1975Post officeThe Barlow post office closes
  8. 1995In the archiveMt. Hood Scenic Byway - West Barlow Tollgate
  9. 21st century
  10. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 140
By decade

Barlow, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
William1903William
1910s–1980snothing 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
1990s1 item
Mt. Hood Scenic Byway - West Barlow Tollgate1995Mt. Hood Scenic Byway - West Barlow Tollgate
Today4 recent
Barlow Pioneer Cemetery, Barlow - DPLA - 311667ad0a4de88b98e27bd47dcfff752013Barlow Pioneer Cemetery, Barlow - DPLA - 311667ad0a4d…Colorful Travels2010Colorful TravelsBarlow Oregon Church2009Barlow Oregon ChurchORMap-doton-Barlow2004ORMap-doton-Barlow
On the map

Barlow on the map, 1954 to 1985

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

Barlow on the 1954 USGS mapBarlow on the 1970 USGS mapBarlow on the 1985 USGS map1954Canby sheet · 1:24,000

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

Every building

Barlow, building by building, 1893–1922

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.

Barlow fire insurance map, 1893, sheet 11893Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

William
Retake this viewWilliam, 1903

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Barlow had its own post office from 1871 to 1975.

Barlow
1871–1975
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Barlow Post Officepost office

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

Questions about Barlow’s history

What year was Barlow founded?

The Barlow post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1903.

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 Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.