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C+History
History · Canby

Canby dates to 1857, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 40% of U.S. towns · #66 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it

Most of Canby was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 1880.

1857founded
4on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Canby’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Canby began

When was Canby founded?

1857

Canby dates its founding to 1857 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 29 in 18802020 census: 18,171169 years

How historic is Canby?

C+

More historic than 40% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1871.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Canby’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Canby is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #66 of 142 in Oregon. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Canby’s overall grade.
Founding era1857, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19402.3% of homes (±1.2) · typical OR town 5.3% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register4 listings, 17 historic buildings, 9.4 per 10,000 residents · typical OR town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 40%
NewerOlder
Oregon towns of 2,500+ (142)Ahead of 54%

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 Canby’s 9.4 sits above most of its state (69% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 17 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% 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 (±1.2 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1857.

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 Canby’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19147 editions of the USGS map, 1914 to 1985. Watch Canby change.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Canby’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHair of Today barber pole: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Canby on the map, 1914 to 1985

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

Canby on the 1914 USGS mapCanby on the 1939 USGS mapCanby on the 1941 USGS mapCanby on the 1954 USGS mapCanby on the 1961 USGS mapCanby on the 1970 USGS mapCanby on the 1985 USGS map1914Oregon City 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 Canby.

On the National Register

4 historic places in Canby

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
17
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
William Barlow House
William Barlow HouseKraft-Brandes-Culberston FarmsteadWilliam Knight HouseHerman Anthony Farm
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

High Victorian Italianate1
Bungalow1
Federal1
Queen Anne1
William Barlow HouseHigh Victorian Italianate
Kraft-Brandes-Culberston FarmsteadBungalow
William Knight HouseFederal
All 4 listings
Herman Anthony FarmBuilding · listed 1979

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

The story

How Canby came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Canby.

Read it all →

Canby is named for Edward Richard Sprigg Canby, a Civil War general who was later killed in the Modoc War by Captain Jack and his group of warriors.

The area was known as Baker Prairie when the community was founded in 1857. Canby was platted in 1870. Canby was incorporated by the Oregon Legislative Assembly on February 15, 1893.

In May 2016, Canby was featured on the ABC newsmagazine 20/20, when the local "Canby Psychic" was part of an investigation into the swindling of a local rancher out of $15 million.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Canby, 1857 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857
    FoundingCanby is established
  3. 1871Post officeThe Canby post office opens
  4. 1895Born hereRalph Coleman is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1901Born hereEd Coleman is born here
  7. 1903Born hereChester Newton is born here
  8. 1914On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1953Born hereMartha Schrader is born here
  10. 1980In the archiveHair of Today barber pole
By decade

Canby, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s1 item
Hair of Today barber pole1980Hair of Today barber pole
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
Today11 recent
Railway express agency2009Railway express agencyFlickr - Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife - Canby Pond 01 Swart ODFW2009Flickr - Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife - Canby…EPTC 901 Canby22009EPTC 901 Canby2Canby High School2009Canby High School2009-365-313 Playing in the Rain20092009-365-313 Playing in the RainForestRd-MtHood77072007ForestRd-MtHood7707Canby wait park gazebo2007Canby wait park gazeboCanby Oregon helicopter landmark2007Canby Oregon helicopter landmarkORMap-doton-Canby2004ORMap-doton-CanbyHartsreptileworldsnake2003HartsreptileworldsnakeCanby Ferry Guiding Cable 22003Canby Ferry Guiding Cable 2
Every building

Canby, building by building, 1913–1922

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.

Canby fire insurance map, 1913, sheet 11913Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
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.

Hair of Today barber pole
Retake this viewHair of Today barber pole, 1980

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Canby, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,0001880190019201940196019802000202018,171

Grew from 29 people in 1880 to 18,171 in 2020, more than tenfold.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Canby

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
C
Chester NewtonOlympic wrestler · b. 1903
Ed ColemanAmerican baseball player · b. 1901
R
Ralph ColemanAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1895
M
Martha SchraderAmerican politician · b. 1953
C
Carleigh DeWaldAmerican Paralympic athlete
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Canby’s post office has been open since 1871.

Gone or out of use
FlanderlocaleWigginslocale
1cemetery inside Canby
Baker Prairie

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

Questions about Canby’s history

What year was Canby founded?

In 1857, according to Wikidata. Canby’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1880 counted 29 people here.

How does Canby rank for history?

Canby is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #66 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 Canby?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the William Barlow House (listed 1977, the first). 17 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Canby?

2% of Canby’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1993.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.