Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1850.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Milwaukie’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Milwaukie is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #23 of 142 in Oregon. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Milwaukie’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 Milwaukie’s 2.8 sits near the middle of its state (47% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to B+. The pre-1940 share (±2.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1847.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Milwaukie’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Clackamas people were the original inhabitants of the land upon which the city of Milwaukie now exists. Milwaukie was settled in 1847 and formally platted in 1849 as a rival to the upriver Oregon City by Lot Whitcomb, who named it for Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At the time, the Wisconsin city was also frequently spelled "Milwaukie" before the current spelling was adopted. Some accounts also state that the Oregon city used an alternate spelling to prevent confusion at the post office.
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.
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.
In 1847, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Milwaukie’s post office opened in 1850, and the census of 1880 counted 125 people here.
How does Milwaukie rank for history?
Milwaukie is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #23 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 Milwaukie?
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Hall-Chaney House (listed 1988, the first). 6 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Milwaukie?
12% of Milwaukie’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1968.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (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.
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