Central Point dates to 1852, and 9 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns · #74 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it
Most of Central Point was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Below: maps from 1890 on and the census since 1890.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1872.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Central Point’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Central Point is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #74 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 Central Point’s 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 Central Point’s 8.8 sits above most of its state (67% 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 D to B. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1852.
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 Central Point’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost a third of its people between 1890 and 1900, then grew more than tenfold.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Central Point’s Wikipedia page.
Every building
Central Point, building by building, 1890–1930
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.
Isaac Constant, a pioneer who settled here in 1852, named the location Central Point because of its location at a crossroads in the middle of the Rogue Valley. At this point, the main north–south road from the Willamette Valley met the road between Jacksonville and settlements along the Rogue River. In about 1870, Magruder Brothers opened a store at the crossroads. In 1872, a post office was established here under the name Central Point.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Central Point.
1954Medford 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 Central Point.
On the National Register
9 historic places in Central Point
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
In 1852, according to Wikidata. Central Point’s post office opened in 1872, and the census of 1890 counted 534 people here.
How does Central Point rank for history?
Central Point is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #74 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 Central Point?
9 listings: 9 buildings, among them the Robert Vinton Beall House (listed 1979, the first). 17 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Central Point?
1% of Central Point’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1997.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (9), 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.
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