Most of Culver was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1999. Below: maps from 1963 on and the census since 1930.
Founding year: the first Culver post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1946.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Culver’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Culver is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Culver’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 Culver’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (18% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±2.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1946.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Culver’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Orace Gabriel Collver moved from Coos Bay, Oregon, to Central Oregon and founded the town of Culver. Since he was the postmaster, he got to name the town, but to avoid confusion with another town with similar spelling and sound, he changed it to Culver. He built a general store, which housed the post office and became the center of the community. In 1911, the railroad came through, but on the opposite side of the valley, so the town relocated to the railroad. Collver had the whole house moved to the new location, while the townspeople used the lumber from their old homes and buildings to build new ones. The upstairs of his store housed a meeting hall that was used for local events and dances.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Culver. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1963Culver sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Culver.
People over time
Culver, census by census
Grew from 62 people in 1930 to 1,602 in 2020, more than tenfold.
9 censuses, 1930–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Culver’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Culver’s history
What year was Culver founded?
The Culver post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1946.
How does Culver rank for history?
Culver is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Culver?
3% of Culver’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1999.
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), 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.
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