4 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Kam Wah Chung Company Building, a National Historic Landmark. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1911 on, and the census since 1870.
The John Day post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1901. Another post office, John Day City (1865), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 179 in 18702020 census: 1,664147 years
How historic is John Day?
B+
More historic than 69% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first John Day post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1901.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives John Day’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, John Day is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of John Day’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 John Day’s 80.8 sits above most of its state (93% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 13 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1901.
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 John Day’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first homestead staked in what is now Grant County (then part of Wasco County), in 1862 by B. C. Trowbridge, was within the limits of the present city of John Day. The Eastern Oregon community was not as quick to grow as neighboring Canyon City, which was the county seat and center of the bustling mining industry in the area. Incrementally, local merchants and residents began relocating to John Day—primarily each time after severe fires in Canyon City: the Grant County Courthouse burned in 1870, Chinatown burned in 1885, and fires in 1898 and 1937 each devastated Canyon City's downtown.
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.
Between 179 and 2,012 people in every census since 1870.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on John Day’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
John Day’s post office has been open since 1879. Another post office, John Day City, opened and closed inside today’s town.
John Day City
1865–1871
John Day
1879–today
18601940today
Gone or out of use
Valley View Seventh Day Adventist Christian Schoolschool
1cemetery inside John Day
Rest Lawn
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about John Day’s history
What year was John Day founded?
The John Day post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1901.
How does John Day rank for history?
John Day is more historic than 69% 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.
What is on the National Register in John Day?
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Kam Wah Chung Company Building (a National Historic Landmark since 2005). 13 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in John Day?
16% of John Day’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1959.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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), 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.
1900
1900
