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History · Halsey

Halsey’s post office opened in 1871, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Smith, James Alexander, and Elmarion, Barn and Lame-Smith House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1912 on, and the census since 1880.

1871first post office
1on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Halsey’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Halsey began

When was Halsey founded?

1871

The Halsey post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1876.

First census: 306 in 18802020 census: 962155 years
Founding year: the first Halsey post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1876.The full story ↓

What stands out about Halsey’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19124 editions of the USGS map, 1912 to 1969. Watch Halsey change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Halsey’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Halsey’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 viewHalsey Oregon 1920: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Halsey on the map, 1912 to 1969

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

Halsey on the 1912 USGS mapHalsey on the 1941 USGS mapHalsey on the 1957 USGS mapHalsey on the 1969 USGS map1912Halsey 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 Halsey.

The story

How Halsey came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Halsey.

Read it all →

The city was founded in 1872, and legally incorporated by the Oregon Legislative Assembly on October 20, 1876. The city takes its name from William L. Halsey, who was at the time vice-president of Oregon & California Railroad.

On July 31, 1903 most of the city's downtown core burned to the ground, after a fire started at the J. L. Bishur Creamery.

The city's iconic grain elevator was built in 1955 and stood at a height of 180 feet. It was partially demolished in December 2012 over concerns of structural integrity.

In 2022, the most powerful handgun cartridge in the world, the .500 Bushwhacker, was developed and introduced by Halsey residents James Tow and Keith Tow.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Halsey, 1870 to 1922

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Born hereIsaac Homer Van Winkle is born here
  3. 1871Post officeThe Halsey post office opens
  4. 1881Born hereHerbert E. Gaston is born here
  5. 1883Born hereVirginia Cleaver Bacon is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1908Born hereAmy Porter Rapp is born here
  8. 1912On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1922In the archiveHalsey Oregon 1920
By decade

Halsey, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
Halsey Oregon 19201922Halsey Oregon 1920
1930s–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
Today5 recent
Lavender-22012Lavender-2Lavender Shoppers2012Lavender ShoppersHighway 992009Highway 99United Methodist Church2006United Methodist ChurchGrass seed warehouse2005Grass seed warehouse
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.

Halsey Oregon 1920
Retake this viewHalsey Oregon 1920, 1922

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Halsey

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1999
Smith, James Alexander, and Elmarion, Barn and …
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Gothic Revival1
Late 19th Century Barn (Agricultural)1
Smith, James Alexander, and Elmarion, Barn and Lame-Smith HouseGothic Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Halsey, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020962

Grew from 306 people in 1880 to 962 in 2020, 3 times over.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Halsey

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Isaac Homer Van WinkleAmerican lawyer · b. 1870
Virginia Cleaver BaconAmerican librarian · b. 1883
A
Amy Porter RappAmerican architect · b. 1908
H
Herbert E. GastonAmerican editor and government official · b. 1881
N
Norma Bassett HallAmerican artist · b. 1889

Questions about Halsey’s history

What year was Halsey founded?

The Halsey post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1876.

What is on the National Register in Halsey?

One place: the Smith, James Alexander, and Elmarion, Barn and Lame-Smith House (listed 1999).

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), 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) 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.