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History · Lexington

Lexington’s post office opened in 1885, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1968 on, and the census since 1870.

1885first post office
0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lexington’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Lexington began

When was Lexington founded?

1885

The Lexington post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1903.

First census: 23 in 18702020 census: 238141 years
Founding year: the first Lexington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1903.The full story ↓

What stands out about Lexington’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Lexington’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lexington’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHistoric Lexington School of Lexington,…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Lexington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lexington.

Read it all →

Lexington was named by early settler William Penland for his hometown of Lexington, Kentucky. The Lexington post office was established in 1885.

In 1886, shortly after Morrow County was created, Lexington lost by 33 votes to Heppner in an election to determine the county seat. The town was incorporated in 1903, and had a population of 185 at the 1910 census.

Sheep ranching was important in the region during the days of early settlement by non-natives. It continues in the 21st century and has been joined by wheat farming and cattle ranching as significant uses of the land.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lexington, 1885 to 1968

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1885Post officeThe Lexington post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1902In the archiveHistoric Lexington School of Lexington, Oregon 01
  5. 1959Post officeThe Lexington post office closes
  6. 1968On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Lexington, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Historic Lexington School of Lexington, Oregon 011902Historic Lexington School of Lexington, Oregon 01
1910s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today6 recent
Penland Cemetery, Oregon2024Penland Cemetery, OregonBlackhorse Canyon Oregon2024Blackhorse Canyon OregonFire hydrant2022Fire hydrantLexington Airport Oregon2009Lexington Airport OregonGrain elevators in2009Grain elevators inORMap-doton-Lexington2004ORMap-doton-Lexington
On the map

Lexington on the map, 1968 to 1981

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

Lexington on the 1968 USGS mapLexington on the 1981 USGS map1968Lexington sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lexington.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Historic Lexington School of Lexington, Oregon 01
Retake this viewHistoric Lexington School of Lexington, Oregon 01, 1902

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Lexington’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Lexington, census by census

010020030018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 307

Between 23 and 307 people in every census since 1870.

15 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Lexington had its own post office from 1885 to 1959.

Lexington
1885–1959
18801950today

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

Questions about Lexington’s history

What year was Lexington founded?

The Lexington post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1903.

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 (7), Wikipedia, 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.