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Government Camp at night - horizontal - 237 (8408218339)Photo: Mt. Hood Territory · CC BY 2.0
–Not graded
History · Government Camp

Government Camp’s post office opened in 1931

Most of Government Camp was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2000. Below: maps from 1962 on.

1931first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Mt. Hood Territory · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

How Government Camp began

When was Government Camp founded?

1931

The Government Camp post office opened in 1931, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Swim (1925), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 17995 years
Founding year: the first Government Camp post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Government Camp’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Government Camp are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Government Camp’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Government Camp came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Government Camp.

Read it all →

Government Camp was given its name by settlers traveling the Barlow Road, who discovered several wagons abandoned there by the Regiment of Mounted Riflemen. A sign in front of the town's post office states, "Formerly a camp on the old Barlow Road, the village was named in 1849 when U.S Cavalry troops were forced to abandon wagons and supplies here."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Government Camp, 1925 to 1962

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1925Post officeThe Swim post office opens
  3. 1931Post officeThe Government Camp post office opens
  4. 1932Post officeThe Swim post office closes
  5. 1962On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Government Camp, decade by decade

Today18 recent
Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) 79272025Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) 7927Mtn Ash 79282025Mtn Ash 7928Mtn Ash 79262025Mtn Ash 7926Mtn Ash 79252025Mtn Ash 7925Main street in2025Main street inLee Perry Bench in2025Lee Perry Bench inGovt Camp 79312025Govt Camp 7931Mount Hood Hike2018Mount Hood HikeMount Hood against white sky (Unsplash)2017Mount Hood against white sky (Unsplash)Mount Hood National Forest, United States (Unsplash iMIc5opk 90)2016Mount Hood National Forest, United States (Unsplash i…Mount Hood Wildflowers, OR 9-132013Mount Hood Wildflowers, OR 9-13Toboggan run at Battle Axe Inn2011Toboggan run at Battle Axe Inn006 Government Camp, ranger poses at newly carved Forest sign2011006 Government Camp, ranger poses at newly carved For…Cascade Range near2009Cascade Range nearMt Hood Jpg2007Mt Hood JpgSki bowl tube hill P14242006Ski bowl tube hill P1424Mt-Hood-Oregon2005Mt-Hood-OregonMt Hood2003Mt Hood
On the map

Government Camp on the map, 1962 to 1997

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

Government Camp on the 1962 USGS mapGovernment Camp on the 1980 USGS mapGovernment Camp on the 1997 USGS map1962Government Camp sheet · 1:24,000

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Government Camp

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

See all →
Burt RutanAmerican aerospace engineer · b. 1943
Vic WildAmerican-born Russian snowboarder · b. 1986
Cecil D. AndrusAmerican politician · b. 1931
D
Darren MorningstarAmerican basketball player · b. 1969
Minoru Yasui(1916-1986) American lawyer and activist · b. 1916
Bob AmsberryAmerican actor · b. 1928
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Government Camp’s post office has been open since 1931. Another post office, Swim, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Swim
1925–1932
Government Camp
1931–today
19201970today
Gone or out of use
Pompeii Post Officepost officeSwim Post Officepost office

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

Questions about Government Camp’s history

What year was Government Camp founded?

The Government Camp post office opened in 1931, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 (18), Wikipedia, 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.