McMinnville’s post office opened in 1855, and 6 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns · #48 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it
Most of McMinnville was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 51 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: the first McMinnville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1856.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives McMinnville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, McMinnville is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #48 of 142 in Oregon. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of McMinnville’s overall grade.
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 McMinnville’s 15.9 sits above most of its state (78% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 55 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1856 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 →
What stands out about McMinnville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
McMinnville, building by building, 1884–1912
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
McMinnville founder William T. Newby joined the Great Migration of 1843, of people from the eastern states to the west. He later claimed land in 1844 on the present site of McMinnville in what was known as the Oregon Country, next to the claim of John G. Baker then sheriff. In 1853, Newby built a grist mill at what would become the west end of Third Street. On May 5, 1856, Newby platted a town and named it after his hometown of McMinnville, Tennessee. The plat was not recorded until July 1865, despite Newby receiving his U.S. patent in October 1858.
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.
McMinnville’s post office has been open since 1855.
Gone or out of use
Angella ParkparkBraley StreetlocaleCarlson ParkparkCenter Post Officepost officeCook Elementary SchoolschoolCrestwood ParkparkLinfield College Post Officepost officeQuarry ParkparkSeitterslocaleSightlocaleSullylocaleTall Oaks Parkpark
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about McMinnville’s history
What year was McMinnville founded?
The McMinnville post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1856.
How does McMinnville rank for history?
McMinnville is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #48 of 142 in Oregon. 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.
What is on the National Register in McMinnville?
6 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Pioneer Hall, Linfield College (listed 1978, the first), 1 historic district, the McMinnville Downtown Historic District, with 51 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 55 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in McMinnville?
5% of McMinnville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1991.
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), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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