Coos Bay dates to 1853, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #37 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it
22 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1942 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1858.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Coos Bay’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Coos Bay is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #37 of 142 in Oregon. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Coos Bay’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 Coos Bay’s 13.8 sits above most of its state (75% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 22 listings outnumber those of 80% 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 (±2.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1853.
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 Coos Bay’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Coos Bay’s post office has been open since 1945. Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Empire City
1858–1894
Marshfield
1871–1945
East Marshfield
1891–1908
Empire
1894–1957
Eastside
1908–1957
Coos Bay
1945–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
EastsideEmpireEnglewood
Gone or out of use
Coos SchoolschoolEastside Elementary SchoolschoolElkhorn Post Officepost officeEnglewood MinemineEnglewood SchoolschoolMarket Post Officepost officeMilner Crest Elementary SchoolschoolNavy 11088 Post Officepost officeSection Base Post Officepost officeStave Milllocale
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Coos Bay
EmpireIndependent Order of Odd FellowsOcean View Memorial Gardens
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Famous people
18 famous people were born in Coos Bay
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Prior to Europeans first visiting the Oregon coast, Native American tribes claimed the Coos Bay region as their homeland for thousands of years. Members of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, Siuslaw and Coquille tribes lived, fished, hunted and gathered along Coos Bay and its estuaries, along rivers, and in meadows and forests. Approximately 400 years ago, British and Spanish explorers first approached the South Coast. In 1579, Sir Francis Drake was purported to have sought shelter for his ship, the Golden Hinde, around Cape Arago. Trader and explorer Jedediah Smith was in the region seeking furs, and the Hudson's Bay Company sent Alexander Roderick McLeod to search for an inland passage.
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.
In 1853, according to Wikidata. Coos Bay’s post office opened in 1858, and the census of 1870 counted 250 people here.
How does Coos Bay rank for history?
Coos Bay is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #37 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 Coos Bay?
22 listings: 21 buildings, among them the Marshfield Sun Printing Plant (listed 1973, the first), and 1 historic district, the Marshfield I.O.O.F. Cemetery,.
How old are the homes in Coos Bay?
12% of Coos Bay’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (6), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (22), 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) 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.
1890
1900
1900
c. 1910
1911
1911
