Most of Drain was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Its Register listing is the Charles D. Drain Jr. House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1880.
The Drain post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1887. Another post office, Butler (1872), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 188 in 18802020 census: 1,172154 years
How historic is Drain?
C+
More historic than 43% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Drain post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1887.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Drain’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Drain is more historic than 43% 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 Drain’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 Drain’s 9.3 sits above most of its state (69% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±5.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1887 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Drain’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.
1888Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
In 1876, a coach road was established between Drain and Scottsburg. Drain was the starting point for the Drain-Coos Bay stage line, which ran to Scottsburg and then by river steamer to Gardiner and the beach on the south side of the mouth of the Umpqua River.
The Drain Normal School was founded in the community in 1883 by the Methodist Church. The state took over the school in 1885 and named it as the Central Oregon State Normal School, before it closed in June 1908.
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.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Drain, census by census
Between 188 and 1,204 people in every census since 1880.
14 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Drain’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and burying grounds
Drain’s post office has been open since 1872. Another post office, Butler, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Butler
1872–1873
Drain
1872–today
18701950today
1cemetery inside Drain
Drain
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Drain’s history
What year was Drain founded?
The Drain post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1887.
How does Drain rank for history?
Drain is more historic than 43% 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 Drain?
One place: the Charles D. Drain Jr. House (listed 1978).
How old are the homes in Drain?
8% of Drain’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.7 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
2025
2025
2025
2025
2017
2016
2012
2011
2010
2008
2004
