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Lakewood Bay Oswego LakePhoto: Esprqii · CC BY-SA 3.0
BHistory
History · Lake Oswego

Lake Oswego dates to 1847, and 15 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #35 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it

Most of Lake Oswego was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: maps from 1914 on and the census since 1880.

1847founded
15on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Lake Oswego began

When was Lake Oswego founded?

1847

Lake Oswego dates its founding to 1847 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 96 in 18802020 census: 40,731179 years

How historic is Lake Oswego?

B

More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1853.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Lake Oswego’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lake Oswego is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #35 of 142 in Oregon. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lake Oswego’s overall grade.
Founding era1847, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19403.5% of homes (±1.0) · typical OR town 5.3% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register15 listings, 19 historic buildings, 4.7 per 10,000 residents · typical OR town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 60%
NewerOlder
Oregon towns of 2,500+ (142)Ahead of 76%

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 Lake Oswego’s 4.7 sits near the middle of its state (54% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 19 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1847.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Lake Oswego’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Lake Oswego, and 10 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Lake Oswego are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Landmarks on the Register15 places on the National Register.On the map since 19147 editions of the USGS map, 1914 to 1984. Watch Lake Oswego change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Lake Oswego’s post office has been open since 1961. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Oswego
1853–1961
Waluga
1916–1923
Lake Grove
1923–1960
Marylhurst
1939–today
Lake Oswego
1961–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BryantCookJeanJohns LandingLake GroveLakewoodMarylhurstRivergroveRosewoodSouth Lake Oswego
Gone or out of use
Amart Farms AirstripairportGoodinlocaleLaddlocaleLakewood SchoolschoolLinkslocaleRock QuarrylocaleRock SpurlocaleWallinglocaleWilsonialocale
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lake Oswego
Christ Church Episcopal Parish Memorial GardenOswego PioneerSacred Heart

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

Help out

Start Lake Oswego’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lake Oswego’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 National Register

15 historic places in Lake Oswego

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

places listed
15
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
19
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Oregon Iron Company Furnace
Oregon Iron Company FurnaceLake Oswego Odd Fellows HallLake Oswego Hunt Club EnsembleLadd Estate Company Model HouseMathieson-Worthington House, built 1884John M. and Elizabeth Bates House No. 2, built 1939John M. and Elizabeth Bates House No. 4, built 1954Dr. Walter Black House, built 1933Sherrard-Fenton HouseW. S. and Gladys Boutwell House, built 1931Clara and Samuel B. Weinstein House, built 1931George Rogers HouseIron Workers' CottageOsco C. Roehr HouseJohn M. and Elizabeth Bates House No. 3
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Arts and Crafts5
Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals3
English Cottage3
Northwest Regional Style3
Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals2
Vernacular1
Oregon Iron Company FurnaceStructure
Lake Oswego Odd Fellows HallBuilding
Lake Oswego Hunt Club EnsembleBuilding
Ladd Estate Company Model HouseLate 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals
Mathieson-Worthington HouseVernacular · Built 1884
John M. and Elizabeth Bates House No. 2Arts and Crafts · Built 1939
John M. and Elizabeth Bates House No. 4Arts and Crafts · Built 1954
Dr. Walter Black HouseLate 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals · Built 1933
All 15 listings
Sherrard-Fenton HouseBuilding · listed 1991W. S. and Gladys Boutwell HouseBuilding · listed 1991Clara and Samuel B. Weinstein HouseBuilding · listed 1992George Rogers HouseBuilding · listed 1996Iron Workers' CottageBuilding · listed 2009Osco C. Roehr HouseBuilding · listed 2012John M. and Elizabeth Bates House No. 3Building · listed 1990

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

The story

How Lake Oswego came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lake Oswego.

Read it all →

The Clackamas people once occupied the land that later became Lake Oswego, but diseases transmitted by European explorers and traders killed most of the natives. Before the influx of non-native people via the Oregon Trail, the area between the Willamette River and Tualatin River had a scattering of early pioneer homesteads and farms.

Settlers were encouraged by the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 and the subsequent Homestead Act. Albert Alonzo Durham founded the town of Oswego in 1847, naming it after Oswego, New York. He built a sawmill on Sucker Creek (now Oswego Creek), the town's first industry.

ChaptersEarly history19th century20th and 21st centuries

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lake Oswego, 1847 to 1984

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1847
    FoundingLake Oswego is established
  3. 1853Post officeThe Oswego post office opens
  4. 1884BuiltMathieson-Worthington House is built
  5. 20th century
  6. 1914On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1916Post officeThe Waluga post office opens
  8. 1923Post officeThe Waluga post office closes
  9. 1923Post officeThe Lake Grove post office opens
  10. 1933BuiltDr. Walter Black House is built
  11. 1939BuiltJohn M. and Elizabeth Bates House No. 2 is built
  12. 1954BuiltJohn M. and Elizabeth Bates House No. 4 is built
  13. 1960Post officeThe Lake Grove post office closes
  14. 1961Post officeThe Oswego post office closes
  15. 1963Born hereMike Getchell is born here
  16. 1964Born hereLisa Schlenker is born here
  17. 1979Born hereTravis Cole is born here
  18. 1984Born hereMarissa Neitling is born here
By decade

Lake Oswego, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Lake Oswego, Oregon (2018) - 322018Lake Oswego, Oregon (2018) - 32Lake Oswego Iron & Steel Crucible2009Lake Oswego Iron & Steel Crucible
On the map

Lake Oswego on the map, 1914 to 1984

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

Lake Oswego on the 1914 USGS mapLake Oswego on the 1939 USGS mapLake Oswego on the 1941 USGS mapLake Oswego on the 1954 USGS mapLake Oswego on the 1961 USGS mapLake Oswego on the 1970 USGS mapLake Oswego on the 1984 USGS map1914Oregon City 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 Lake Oswego.

People over time

Lake Oswego, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,0001880190019201940196019802000202040,731

Grew from 96 people in 1880 to 40,731 in 2020, more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Lake Oswego

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

See all →
Marissa NeitlingAmerican actress · b. 1984
L
Lisa SchlenkerAmerican rower · b. 1964
M
Mike GetchellSoccer player · b. 1963
T
Travis ColeAmerican football player · b. 1979
C
Connor GriffinAmerican basketball player and coach
E
Elijah GreerAmerican athletics competitor · b. 1990
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Stafford1 historic placeBOak Grove3 historic placesBPortland596 historic placesA+West Linn7 historic placesC+Tualatin2 historic placesC−RivergroveIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Lake Oswego’s history

What year was Lake Oswego founded?

In 1847, according to Wikidata. Lake Oswego’s post office opened in 1853, and the census of 1880 counted 96 people here.

How does Lake Oswego rank for history?

Lake Oswego is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #35 of 142 in Oregon. 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 Lake Oswego?

15 listings: 14 buildings and 1 structure. 19 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Lake Oswego?

4% of Lake Oswego’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1982.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikidata (14), the National Register of Historic Places (15), 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.