Most of Depoe Bay was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Its Register listings are the Depoe Bay Bridge No. 01388 and the Depoe Bay Ocean Wayside. Below: maps from 1941 on and the census since 1980.
Founding year: the first Depoe Bay post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1973.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Depoe Bay’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Depoe Bay is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Depoe 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 Depoe Bay’s 11.2 sits above most of its state (74% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1973.
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 Depoe Bay’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Depoe Bay was named for Siletz Indian Charles "Charley" Depoe (born Ki-sa Che-wes-cla) who was originally allotted the land in 1894 as part of the Dawes Act of 1887. One says he was given the name "Depot Charley" for working at the military depot near Toledo, Oregon. The family was later known as "DePoe" after his son, Robert DePoe attended the Carlisle Indian School. His original tribal affiliation was Josua/Tututni.
On March 11, 2011, Depoe Bay's port was damaged by a tsunami caused by the Tōhoku earthquake off the coast of Japan.
On August 21, 2017, Depoe Bay became one of the first places in the United States to witness totality of the North American solar eclipse of that year.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Depoe Bay, census by census
Grew from 723 people in 1980 to 1,515 in 2020.
5 censuses, 1980–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Depoe Bay’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Depoe Bay’s history
What year was Depoe Bay founded?
The Depoe Bay post office opened in 1928, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1973.
How does Depoe Bay rank for history?
Depoe Bay is more historic than 25% 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.
What is on the National Register in Depoe Bay?
Two places: the Depoe Bay Bridge No. 01388 (listed 2005) and the Depoe Bay Ocean Wayside (2012).
How old are the homes in Depoe Bay?
3% of Depoe Bay’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1990.
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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.
2009
2009
2009
2009
2009
2009
2009
2009
2004
2004
2004
