Dundee’s post office opened in 1882, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 42% of U.S. towns · #59 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it
Most of Dundee was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Its Register listings are the Dundee Woman's Club Hall and the Levi Hagey House. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1900.
The Dundee post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1895. Two smaller post offices, Ekins (1881) and Dundee Junction (1887), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 124 in 19002020 census: 3,238144 years
How historic is Dundee?
C+
More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Dundee post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1895.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Dundee’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dundee is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #59 of 142 in Oregon. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dundee’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 Dundee’s 6.2 sits near the middle of its state (59% 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 C to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1895 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 Dundee’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Dundee was named after Dundee, Scotland, the birthplace of William Reid. Reid came to Oregon in 1874 to establish the Oregonian Railway, and made several extensions to the railroad in the western Willamette Valley.
The first post office in the area, established in 1881, was called Ekins. The Ekins post office was closed in 1885, and in 1887 a new office opened and was named "Dundee Junction." The name was chosen in anticipation of plans to build a bridge across the Willamette River for the railroad, which would have called for a junction at Dundee between the west railroad and the new east railroad. The bridge was never built, however, and the post office was renamed "Dundee" in 1897.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Dundee, census by census
Grew from 124 people in 1900 to 3,238 in 2020, more than tenfold.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Dundee’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Dundee’s history
What year was Dundee founded?
The Dundee post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1895.
How does Dundee rank for history?
Dundee is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #59 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 Dundee?
Two places: the Dundee Woman's Club Hall (listed 1986) and the Levi Hagey House (1974).
How old are the homes in Dundee?
7% of Dundee’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.3 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1993.
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.
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