Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Camp Sherman

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Camp Sherman

Camp Sherman’s post office opened in 1922, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Camp Sherman was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Its Register listing is the Camp Sherman Community Hall. Below: 6 old photos and papers and maps from 1959 on.

1922first post office
1on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Camp Sherman began

When was Camp Sherman founded?

1922

The Camp Sherman post office opened in 1922, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Matoles (1888), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 251104 years
Founding year: the first Camp Sherman post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
The story so far

Camp Sherman, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Camp Sherman yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Camp Sherman is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson County, Oregon, United States. It is located on the Metolius River. The year-round population as of the 2020 census was 251. with that number tripling or more during the summer. The community includes an elementary school, Black Butte School, a general store and a post office (ZIP code 97730). The community also has a volunteer fire department. Camp Sherman was founded by vacationers from Sherman County in the latter part of the 19th century.

Its first post office opened in 1922. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 233 to 251 (+8%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Camp Sherman, 1888 to 1959

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Matoles post office opens
  3. 1896Post officeThe Matoles post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1922Post officeThe Camp Sherman post office opens
  6. 1939In the archive1939. Class 1 (group). Keen Ponderosa Pine Tree Classification. Camp Sherman, Oregon
  7. 1959On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Camp Sherman, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s6 items
1939. Class 1 (group). Keen Ponderosa Pine Tree Classification. Camp Sherman, Oregon19391939. Class 1 (group). Keen Ponderosa Pine Tree Class…1939. Class 2B and Class 2C (group). Keen Ponderosa Pine Tree Classification. Camp Sherman, Oregon19391939. Class 2B and Class 2C (group). Keen Ponderosa P…1939. Class 2B-C (group). Keen Ponderosa Pine Tree Classification. Camp Sherman, Oregon19391939. Class 2B-C (group). Keen Ponderosa Pine Tree Cl…1939. Class 2B. Keen Ponderosa Pine Tree Classification. Camp Sherman, Oregon19391939. Class 2B. Keen Ponderosa Pine Tree Classificati…1939. Class 3A. Keen Ponderosa Pine Tree Classification. Camp Sherman, Oregon19391939. Class 3A. Keen Ponderosa Pine Tree Classificati…1939. Class 3B. Keen Ponderosa Pine Tree Classification. Camp Sherman, Oregon19391939. Class 3B. Keen Ponderosa Pine Tree Classificati…
1940s–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
On the map

Camp Sherman on the map, 1959 to 1988

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

Camp Sherman on the 1959 USGS mapCamp Sherman on the 1988 USGS map1959Sisters sheet · 1:62,500

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

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.

1939. Class 1 (group). Keen Ponderosa Pine Tree Classification. Camp Sherman, Oregon
Retake this view1939. Class 1 (group). Keen Ponderosa Pine Tree Classification. Camp Sherman, Oregon, 1939

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Camp Sherman

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2003
Camp Sherman Community Hall
Camp Sherman Community Hall
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Rustic1
Camp Sherman Community HallRustic

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Camp Sherman

Nobody well known was born in Camp Sherman itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
River PhoenixAmerican actor and musician (1970–2026 · b. 1970
Ian BoswellAmerican racing cyclist · b. 1991
Jacoby EllsburyAmerican baseball player · b. 1983
William A. NiskanenAmerican economist · b. 1933
William WeigandCatholic bishop · b. 1937
G
George M. CampbellUnited States Navy Navy Cross recipient · b. 1907
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Camp Sherman’s post office has been open since 1922. Another post office, Matoles, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Matoles
1888–1896
Camp Sherman
1922–today
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Matoles Post Officepost officeRiver Island Forest Camplocale

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

Help out

Finish Camp Sherman’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 view1939. Class 1 (group). Keen Ponderosa P…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Camp Sherman’s history

What year was Camp Sherman founded?

The Camp Sherman post office opened in 1922, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Camp Sherman?

One place: the Camp Sherman Community Hall (listed 2003).

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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.