On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Coquille is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #12 of 142 in Oregon. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Coquille’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 Coquille’s 22.5 sits above most of its state (83% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 9 historic buildings outnumber those of 75% 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 (±11.0 points).
Founding year: the first census (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 Coquille’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Before European-American settlement, the area around present-day Coquille was home to several villages of the Upper Coquille people, who lived along the river that would later share their name. The mid-1850s brought a wave of violence to the region as gold-seekers moved into Coquille and Coos territory. In January 1854, a dispute between a Nasomah man and a ferryman near the mouth of the Coquille River escalated when a vigilante group of local miners formed in response. An Indian agent later described the resulting attack as a massacre carried out against a portion of the local population. Between 1851 and 1855, repeated attacks on Coquille villages contributed to a sharp population collapse, with the Native population of Coos and Curry counties falling from roughly 8,000 to a few hundred by the mid-1850s. In the years that followed, the Coquille people signed treaties in 1851 and 1855 …
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.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Coquille’s history
What year was Coquille founded?
The Coquille post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1885.
How does Coquille rank for history?
Coquille is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #12 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 Coquille?
6 listings: 6 buildings, among them the John E. and Christina Paulson House (listed 1983, the first). 9 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Coquille?
33% of Coquille’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.0 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1966.
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 (6), 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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