Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Lowell was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Its Register listings are the Lowell Bridge, the Unity Bridge and the Lowell Grange. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1955 on, and the census since 1960.
The Lowell post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1954. Another post office, Cannon (1880), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lowell is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Lowell’s 24.4 sits above most of its state (84% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lowell’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Lowell.
A post office called Lowell has been in operation since 1883. The city was named after Lowell, Maine. The city was founded by Oregon pioneer Amos Damon Hyland of Illinois.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lowell. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lowell.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Lowell’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Grew from 503 people in 1960 to 1,196 in 2020.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lowell’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Lowell itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Lowell’s post office has been open since 1883. Another post office, Cannon, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Lowell post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1954.
Lowell is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns. 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.
Three places: the Lowell Bridge (listed 1979), the Unity Bridge (1979) and the Lowell Grange (2005).
6% of Lowell’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1993.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (8), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
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