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History · Lookingglass

Lookingglass’ post office opened in 1871, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Lookingglass was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Its Register listing is the Wimer, James, Octagonal Barn. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1908 on.

1871first post office
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lookingglass’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Lookingglass began

When was Lookingglass founded?

1871

The Lookingglass post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 916155 years
Founding year: the first Lookingglass post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Lookingglass’ 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.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lookingglass’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lookingglass’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 viewLookingglass, Oregon - Palmer Camp: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Lookingglass came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lookingglass.

Read it all →

The valley was named in 1846 by surveyor Hoy Flournoy, who said the beautiful green grass of the valley reflected light almost as well as a mirror. Flournoy later returned to settle in the area.

The Lookingglass Store, built in 1852, was once the terminus for the Oakland to Lookingglass stage and freight road. It was also the beginning of the Coos Bay Wagon Road. Today the store continues to serve as the hub of the community and is the oldest business in Douglas County. Lookingglass also has a school, a grange hall, a church and a fire station. Lookingglass post office closed in 1942.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lookingglass, 1871 to 1942

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Lookingglass post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1908In the archiveLookingglass, Oregon - Palmer Camp
  5. 1942Post officeThe Lookingglass post office closes
By decade

Lookingglass, decade by decade

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

1900s1 item
Lookingglass, Oregon - Palmer Camp1908Lookingglass, Oregon - Palmer Camp
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
Today2 recent
Lookingglass Fish Hatchery, Forest Road 63 - DPLA - 9f378d65340dbfac75774773febd10bd2014Lookingglass Fish Hatchery, Forest Road 63 - DPLA - 9…Lookingglass Fish Hatchery, Forest Road 63 - DPLA - 708fb2682e85d7c6628bf7dbef02a8a12014Lookingglass Fish Hatchery, Forest Road 63 - DPLA - 7…
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.

Lookingglass, Oregon - Palmer Camp
Retake this viewLookingglass, Oregon - Palmer Camp, 1908

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Lookingglass

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Wimer, James, Octagonal Barn
Wimer, James, Octagonal Barn
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Bungalow1
All 1 listings
Wimer, James, Octagonal BarnBuilding · listed 1985

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Lookingglass

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

See all →
Jeff MerkleyAmerican politician · b. 1956
B
Bobby HendersonFounder of Pastafarianism · b. 1980
Jean SaubertAlpine skier · b. 1942
TJ KluneAmerican writer of queer romantic fiction and f… · b. 1982
Michael WatermanAmerican scientist and professor at the Univers… · b. 1942
Laura GibsonAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1979
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Lookingglass had its own post office from 1871 to 1942.

Lookingglass
1871–1942
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Fort FlournoylocaleLookingglass Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Lookingglass
Lookingglass

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

Questions about Lookingglass’ history

What year was Lookingglass founded?

The Lookingglass post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Lookingglass?

One place: the Wimer, James, Octagonal Barn (listed 1985).

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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.