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History · Lonerock

Lonerock’s post office opened in 1875, and 46% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1969 on and the census since 1910.

1875first post office
0on the National Register
46%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Lonerock began

When was Lonerock founded?

1875

The Lonerock post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1901. Another post office, Lone Rock (1875), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 70 in 19102020 census: 25151 years
Founding year: the first Lonerock post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1901.The full story ↓

What stands out about Lonerock’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Lonerock are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1930 and 1990, then more than doubled.Old housesHalf of Lonerock’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lonerock’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lonerock’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
People over time

Lonerock, census by census

019201940196019802000202082 in 1930Low: 11

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1930 and 1990, then more than doubled.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Lonerock came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lonerock.

Read it all →

The settlement began in the early 1870s, as a service center for the surrounding ranches. It was platted in 1882 as "Lone Rock", named for an unusual, 35-foot (11 m)-high rock that still stands in the town near the old Methodist church. The U.S. Postal Service had a preference for one-word names, so name of the post office was "Lonerock", which eventually became the community's official name. The city's population grew from 68 in 1900 to 70 in 1910, 73 in 1920, to a high of 82 in 1930. By 1940, Lonerock's population dwindled to 46, dropped to 38 in 1950, 31 in 1960, and to 12 residents in 1970. The population increased to 26 citizens in 1980, before falling to 11 in the 1990 census.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lonerock, 1875 to 1969

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1875Post officeThe Lone Rock post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 82
  5. 1963Post officeThe Lone Rock post office closes
  6. 1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Lonerock, decade by decade

Today7 recent
The Rock, Lonerock - DPLA - 33aff244ffe4ebc9a8dbe2c6aefe12a72015The Rock, Lonerock - DPLA - 33aff244ffe4ebc9a8dbe2c6a…Lonerock - DPLA - e2701ad5d7055979d85a7b21019dc7a62015Lonerock - DPLA - e2701ad5d7055979d85a7b21019dc7a6Lonerock - DPLA - c4069df103b52d431d94f61441b153542015Lonerock - DPLA - c4069df103b52d431d94f61441b15354Lonerock - DPLA - a1a42a9b95277c40b55806dcde4aec712015Lonerock - DPLA - a1a42a9b95277c40b55806dcde4aec71Lonerock Cemetery2014Lonerock CemeteryLonerock - DPLA - c81981aa6bd1c229c32ae235c959795b2014Lonerock - DPLA - c81981aa6bd1c229c32ae235c959795bORMap-doton-Lonerock2004ORMap-doton-Lonerock
On the map

Lonerock on the map, 1969 to 1995

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

Lonerock on the 1969 USGS mapLonerock on the 1984 USGS mapLonerock on the 1995 USGS map1969Lonerock 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 Lonerock.

Famous people

Famous people close to Lonerock

Nobody well known was born in Lonerock itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Staryl C. AustinAmerican military personnel · b. 1920
J
John KilkennyAmerican judge · b. 1901
D
Dallas WardAmerican football player and coach · b. 1906
J
John David BurnsAmerican politician · b. 1936
J
Jackson Earle GilliamAmerican bishop · b. 1920
T
Terry CooneyUnited States Marine · b. 1933
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Another post office, Lone Rock, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gone or out of use
Lonerock Post Officepost office

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

Questions about Lonerock’s history

What year was Lonerock founded?

The Lonerock post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1901.

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.