Most of Island City was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: maps from 1910 on and the census since 1910.
Founding year: the first Island City post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1904. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
History grade
What drives Island City’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Island City is more historic than 21% 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 Island City’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 Island City’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 (±3.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1904.
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 Island City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost a third of its people between 1910 and 1930, then grew 9-fold.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Island City’s Wikipedia page.
The story so far
Island City, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Island City yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Island City is a city in Union County, Oregon, United States. Its name originated from the city's location on an island between the Grande Ronde River and a nearby slough. However, the slough was later diverted, removing the city's island status. As of the 2020 census, Island City had a population of 1,144.
Its first post office opened in 1873. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 989 to 1,144 (+16%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Island City, 1873 to 2020
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
Island City had its own post office from 1873 to 1959.
Island City
1873–1959
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Island City Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Island City
Island City
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Island City’s history
What year was Island City founded?
The Island City post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1904.
How does Island City rank for history?
Island City is more historic than 21% 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 Island City?
6% of Island City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 Wikimedia Commons (2), 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.
2010
2004
