The Keno post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Plevna (1878), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,980139 years
How historic is Keno?
C−
More historic than 16% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Keno post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Keno’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Keno is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Keno’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 Keno’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 (±3.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 →
A post office called Whittles Ferry was established within the area that is now attributed as Keno on September 22, 1876, with Robert Marple as its very first postmaster. The name thus did not initially derive from the first postmaster, but the Robert Whittle, who operated the ferry.
Postal authorities rejected the initial name, and also the other proposed name for the location, "Klamath River". Another attempt was made, changing the name to "Plevna" on January 9, 1878, and the office was moved northeast where it would however cease to be used after it closed in March 1892.
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.
The Keno post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Keno rank for history?
Keno is more historic than 16% 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 Keno?
2% of Keno’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 (5), 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.
1939
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1939
