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History · Chiloquin

Chiloquin’s post office opened in 1912, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1957 on, and the census since 1880.

1912first post office
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Chiloquin’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Chiloquin began

When was Chiloquin founded?

1912

The Chiloquin post office opened in 1912, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1926.

First census: 150 in 18802020 census: 767114 years
Founding year: the first Chiloquin post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1926.

What stands out about Chiloquin’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.Old housesHalf of Chiloquin’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Chiloquin’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chiloquin’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 viewLoading Logs- General - DPLA - c7179796…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Chiloquin, in brief

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

Chiloquin ( CHIL-ə-kwin) (Klamath: mbosaksawaas, "flint place" ) is a city in Klamath County, Oregon, United States. Chiloquin was the pioneer version of a Klamath family name Chaloquin, which was the name of a Klamath chief who was alive at the time of the treaty of 1864. Southern Pacific records also show that a woman named Bessie Chiloquin deeded a right-of-way through the area to the railroad on February 14, 1914. As of the 2020 census, Chiloquin had a population of 767.

Its first post office opened in 1912. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 734 to 767 (+4%).

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

Timeline

Chiloquin, 1912 to 1961

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1912Post officeThe Chiloquin post office opens
  3. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1961In the archiveLoading Logs- General - DPLA - c7179796ee9a28fd15b1f8e12fe91b55
By decade

Chiloquin, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1960s1 item
Loading Logs- General - DPLA - c7179796ee9a28fd15b1f8e12fe91b551961Loading Logs- General - DPLA - c7179796ee9a28fd15b1f8…
1970s–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
Today5 recent
Chiloquin, Oregon2008Chiloquin, OregonChiloquin OR - welcome sign2008Chiloquin OR - welcome signChiloquin OR - grain elevator2008Chiloquin OR - grain elevatorKla-Mo-Ya Casino2006Kla-Mo-Ya CasinoORMap-doton-Chiloquin2004ORMap-doton-Chiloquin
On the map

Chiloquin on the map, 1957 to 1998

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

Chiloquin on the 1957 USGS mapChiloquin on the 1988 USGS mapChiloquin on the 1998 USGS map1957Chiloquin 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 Chiloquin.

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.

Loading Logs- General - DPLA - c7179796ee9a28fd15b1f8e12fe91b55
Retake this viewLoading Logs- General - DPLA - c7179796ee9a28fd15b1f8e12fe91b55, 1961

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Chiloquin, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 945

Between 150 and 945 people in every census since 1880.

12 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Questions about Chiloquin’s history

What year was Chiloquin founded?

The Chiloquin post office opened in 1912, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1926.

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), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via 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.