Corvallis dates to 1845, and 37 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 83% of U.S. towns · #7 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it
Most of Corvallis was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. 37 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 478 buildings between them. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1850.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Corvallis’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Corvallis is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #7 of 142 in Oregon. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Corvallis’ 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 Corvallis’ 85.7 sits above most of its state (94% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 514 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% 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 (±1.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1845.
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 Corvallis’ 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.
Every building
Corvallis, building by building, 1884–1912
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.
In October 1845, Pennsylvanian Joseph C. Avery arrived in Oregon. Avery took out a land claim at the mouth of Marys River, where it flows into the Willamette River, and in June 1846 took up residence there in a log cabin hastily constructed to hold what seemed a potentially lucrative claim. Avery's primitive 1846 dwelling was the first home within the boundaries of today's city limits and his land claim included the southern section of the contemporary 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.
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Corvallis’s post office has been open since 1854. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Avery's
1850–1850
Marysville
1850–1854
Corvallis
1854–today
18501940today
Gone or out of use
Campus Post Officepost officeCorvallis Fire Department Station 5buildingDunlaplocalePheasantlocaleRoosevelt SchoolschoolWashington SchoolschoolWestland Middle Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Corvallis
BentonIOOFOak Lawn Memorial ParkSaint Mary's
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Finish Corvallis’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
In 1845, according to Wikidata. Corvallis’ post office opened in 1850, and the census of 1880 counted 1,128 people here.
How does Corvallis rank for history?
Corvallis is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #7 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 Corvallis?
37 listings: 32 buildings, among them the Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan (listed 1971, the first), 3 historic districts, the Avery-Helm Historic District, the College Hill West Historic District and the Oregon State University Historic District, with 478 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 1 structure. 514 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Corvallis?
8% of Corvallis’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (13), the National Register of Historic Places (37), 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.
1908
1908
1939
2017
