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History · Glendale

Glendale’s post office opened in 1883, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1912 on, and the census since 1910.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Glendale’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Glendale began

When was Glendale founded?

1883

The Glendale post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1901. Another post office, Julia (1883), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 646 in 19102020 census: 858143 years
Founding year: the first Glendale post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1901.The full story ↓

What stands out about Glendale’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Glendale’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Glendale’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewSP 4415 eastbound into Glendale, OR on …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Glendale came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Glendale.

Read it all →

After construction of a railroad line south from Roseburg in 1881–83, Solomon Abraham, the local right-of-way agent, platted the community and named it "Julia" after his wife. After a dispute with Abraham, A. F. Morris, the chief engineer for the railroad, changed the name to "Glendale". A Julia post office was established in February 1883, and its name was changed to Glendale in August of the same year. L. D. Montgomery was the first postmaster. Fire destroyed much of Glendale's business district in 1928. Glendale was quickly rebuilt.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Glendale, 1883 to 1982

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Glendale post office opens
  3. 1883Post officeThe Julia post office opens
  4. 1883Post officeThe Julia post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1982In the archiveSP 4415 eastbound into Glendale, OR on July 30, 1982
By decade

Glendale, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s2 items
SP 4415 eastbound into Glendale, OR on July 30, 19821982SP 4415 eastbound into Glendale, OR on July 30, 1982SP 4415 eastbound into Glndale, OR on July 30, 1982 B071982SP 4415 eastbound into Glndale, OR on July 30, 1982 B…
1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today4 recent
Untitled photo2013Untitled photoGlendale High School pirate ship entrance2009Glendale High School pirate ship entranceGlendale High School pirate2009Glendale High School pirateORMap-doton-Glendale2004ORMap-doton-Glendale
On the map

Glendale on the map, 1954 to 1996

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Glendale. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Glendale on the 1954 USGS mapGlendale on the 1986 USGS mapGlendale on the 1996 USGS map1954Glendale sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Glendale.

Every building

Glendale, building by building, 1912–1920

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.

Glendale fire insurance map, 1912, sheet 11912Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

SP 4415 eastbound into Glendale, OR on July 30, 1982
Retake this viewSP 4415 eastbound into Glendale, OR on July 30, 1982, 1982

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Glendale’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Glendale, census by census

0200400600800192019401960198020002020Peak: 874

Between 516 and 874 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Glendale’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Glendale

Nobody well known was born in Glendale itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Ty BurrellAmerican actor and comedian · b. 1967
Jeff MerkleyAmerican politician · b. 1956
David AndersActor · b. 1981
B
Bobby HendersonFounder of Pastafarianism · b. 1980
Bill DellingerAmerican middle-distance runner · b. 1934
Jean SaubertAlpine skier · b. 1942
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Glendale’s post office has been open since 1883. Another post office, Julia, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Glendale
1883–today
Julia
1883–1883
18801950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Glendale’s history

What year was Glendale founded?

The Glendale post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1901.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, 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.