Bend’s post office opened in 1886, and 28 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns · #45 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it
Most of Bend was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. 28 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 299 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 1910.
The Bend post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1905. Another post office, Deschutes (1902), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 536 in 19102020 census: 99,178140 years
How historic is Bend?
B−
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Bend post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1905.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bend’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bend is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #45 of 142 in Oregon. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bend’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Bend ranks #228 on History.
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 Bend’s 32.0 sits above most of its state (88% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 331 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 C− to B+. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1905.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Bend’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
American Indian tribes hunted and fished in the area. In late 1824, members of a fur-trapping party led by Peter Skene Ogden visited the area. John C. Frémont, John Strong Newberry, and other United States Army survey parties came next. Subsequent American pioneers heading further west passed through the area and forded the Deschutes River at a canyonless double bend, which may have actually been referred to as "Farewell Bend". The area was settled by Euro-Americans in the 1870s. John Young Todd, a Missourian who participated in the Mexican War (and for whom Todd Lake is named), purchased a land claim in the area and named it "Farewell Bend Ranch". Todd sold this to John Sisemore in 1881, who applied for a post office in 1886. Because the name "Farewell Bend" was already in use, it was shortened to "Bend" by the United States Post Office Department.
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 Bend. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1962Bend 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 Bend.
Every building
Bend, building by building, 1913–1920
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.
The Bend post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1905.
How does Bend rank for history?
Bend is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #45 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 Bend?
28 listings: 24 buildings, among them the Reid School (listed 1979, the first), 3 historic districts, the Old Town Historic District, the Drake Park Neighborhood Historic District and the Pilot Butte Canal Historic District, with 299 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 331 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Bend?
4% of Bend’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 2001.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (28), 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.
1910
1910
