Its Register listings are the Cascade Locks Work Center, the Clark Thompson House and the Cascade Locks Marine Park. Below: 2 old photos and papers from 1920 on.
Founding year: the first Cascade Locks post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1935.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cascade Locks’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cascade Locks is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cascade Locks’ 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 Cascade Locks’ 29.0 sits above most of its state (86% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±17.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1935.
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 Cascade Locks’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The city got its name from a set of locks built to improve navigation past the Cascades Rapids of the Columbia River. The U.S. federal government approved the plan for the locks in 1875, construction began in 1878, and the locks were completed on November 5, 1896. The locks were subsequently submerged in 1938, replaced by Bonneville Lock and Dam, although the city did not lose land from the expansion of Lake Bonneville behind the dam some 4 miles (6 km) downstream of the city.
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.
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.
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Cascade Locks had its own post office from 1878 to 1981.
Cascade Locks
1878–1981
18701950today
Gone or out of use
C L Lumber CompanylocaleCascade Locksdam
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Cascade Locks
Cascade LocksFreddie Masterson GraveMcQuinn
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Cascade Locks’ history
What year was Cascade Locks founded?
The Cascade Locks post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1935.
How does Cascade Locks rank for history?
Cascade Locks is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns. 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 Cascade Locks?
Three places: the Cascade Locks Work Center (listed 1986), the Clark Thompson House (1989) and the Cascade Locks Marine Park (1974).
How old are the homes in Cascade Locks?
17% of Cascade Locks’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±17.5 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, 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.
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