The Foots Creek post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Bolt (1885), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 734148 years
How historic is Foots Creek?
C−
More historic than 22% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Foots Creek post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Foots Creek’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Foots Creek is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Foots Creek’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 Foots Creek’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 C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Foots Creek’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Foots Creek yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Foots Creek is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jackson County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. It lies along Oregon Route 99 near the mouth of Foots Creek, where it empties into the Rogue River. Interstate 5 and Valley of the Rogue State Park are on the side of the river opposite Foots Creek. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Foots Creek as a census-designated place (CDP). The census definition of the area may not precisely correspond to local understanding of the area with the same name. As of the 2020 census, Foots Creek had a population of 734. The community "has been known as Bolt since pioneer days." The stream takes its…
Its first post office opened in 1878. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 799 to 734 (-8%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Foots Creek, 1878 to 1954
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Foots Creek had its own post office from 1878 to 1879. Another post office, Bolt, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Foots Creek
1878–1879
Bolt
1885–1896
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Anderson MinemineBolt Post Officepost officeFoots Creek Post Officepost officeFort BirdseyelocaleLittle Giant MinemineMolly Minemine
1cemetery inside Foots Creek
Foots
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Foots Creek’s history
What year was Foots Creek founded?
The Foots Creek post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Foots Creek rank for history?
Foots Creek is more historic than 22% 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 Foots Creek?
6% of Foots Creek’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.1 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
