Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Holley

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Holley

Holley’s post office opened in 1890

Most of Holley was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: maps from 1921 on.

1890first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Sword Fern · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Holley began

When was Holley founded?

1890

The Holley post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 390136 years
Founding year: the first Holley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Holley’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 Holley are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19213 editions of the USGS map, 1921 to 1988. Watch Holley change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Holley’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Holley on the map, 1921 to 1988

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

Holley on the 1921 USGS mapHolley on the 1950 USGS mapHolley on the 1988 USGS map1921Brownsville 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 Holley.

The story so far

Holley, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Holley yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Holley is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Linn County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2020 census, Holley had a population of 390. It is about 4 miles (6 km) southwest of Sweet Home on Oregon Route 228 near the Calapooia River. The Holley area was once the source of the semi-precious gemstone Holley blue agate.

Its first post office opened in 1890. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 378 to 390 (+3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Holley, 1890 to 1957

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890Post officeThe Holley post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1921On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1957Post officeThe Holley post office closes
By decade

Holley, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Holley Market2013Holley MarketHolley Oregon2012Holley OregonHolley Christian Church2012Holley Christian Church
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Holley had its own post office from 1890 to 1957.

Holley
1890–1957
18901960today
Gone or out of use
Holley Post Officepost office

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

Questions about Holley’s history

What year was Holley founded?

The Holley post office opened in 1890, 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 →
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 (3), 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.