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Long Creek, OregonPhoto: Richard Bauer ("rustejunk") · CC BY 2.0
–Not graded
History · Long Creek

Long Creek’s post office opened in 1880, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1949 on and the census since 1890.

1880first post office
0on the National Register
38%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Richard Bauer ("rustejunk") · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

How Long Creek began

When was Long Creek founded?

1880

The Long Creek post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1891.

First census: 60 in 18902020 census: 173146 years
Founding year: the first Long Creek post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1891.The full story ↓

What stands out about Long Creek’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 Long Creek are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 295 in 1960; 173 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Long Creek’s homes were built before 1953.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Long Creek’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Long Creek’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

Long Creek, census by census

01002003001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 295

Peaked at 295 in 1960; 173 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Long Creek came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Long Creek.

Read it all →

The city was incorporated in 1891. At the 1900 census the city recorded 123 residents. Long Creek fell to 86 people in 1910, and then rebounded to 148 at 1920's census. After dipping to 139 people in 1930, the city saw steady population growth for several decades with population numbers of 238 in 1940, 288 in 1950, and topping out at 295 residents in 1960. By 1970 the city had fallen to 196 people, and then grew back to 252 people in 1980, before dropping to 249 citizens at the 1990 census.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Long Creek, 1880 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Post officeThe Long Creek post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1934Born hereDonald Gilman is born here
  5. 1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 295
By decade

Long Creek, decade by decade

Today4 recent
2015, View from US 395 Near Canyon City, OR20152015, View from US 395 Near Canyon City, ORLong Creek, Oregon2011Long Creek, OregonLongcreek2010LongcreekORMap-doton-Long Creek2004ORMap-doton-Long Creek
On the map

Long Creek on the map, 1949 to 1990

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

Long Creek on the 1949 USGS mapLong Creek on the 1951 USGS mapLong Creek on the 1990 USGS map1949Long Creek 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 Long Creek.

Questions about Long Creek’s history

What year was Long Creek founded?

The Long Creek post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1891.

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 (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) 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.