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History · Mitchell

Mitchell’s post office opened in 1873, and 48% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1966 on and the census since 1900.

1873first post office
0on the National Register
48%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Finetooth · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Mitchell began

When was Mitchell founded?

1873

The Mitchell post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1891.

First census: 135 in 19002020 census: 138153 years
Founding year: the first Mitchell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1891.The full story ↓

What stands out about Mitchell’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 Mitchell are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 415 in 1950; 138 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Mitchell’s homes were built before 1951.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mitchell’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mitchell’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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People over time

Mitchell, census by census

01002003004001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 415

Peaked at 415 in 1950; 138 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How Mitchell came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mitchell.

Read it all →

At the request of William "Brawdie" Johnson, a blacksmith, a post office was established at Mitchell in 1873. Johnson, the first postmaster, suggested the name Mitchell after John Hipple Mitchell, a U.S. Senator from Oregon. Senator Mitchell held the office in 1873−1879, 1885−1897, and 1901−1905. Platted in 1885, the community was incorporated in 1893.

In 1872 the first school in Wheeler County was established near Mitchell, and in 1874 it was relocated into the town itself.

ChaptersFoundationEarly townThree catastrophic flash floodsOregon's first dinosaur fossil

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mitchell, 1873 to 1966

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Mitchell post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 415
  5. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Mitchell, decade by decade

Today6 recent
2017-07-14 Mitchell 0920172017-07-14 Mitchell 092017-07-14 Mitchell 0820172017-07-14 Mitchell 08Raffling off a gun at the cafe in2013Raffling off a gun at the cafe inStars2011StarsORMap-doton-Mitchell2004ORMap-doton-MitchellBear cage in2002Bear cage in
On the map

Mitchell on the map, 1966 to 1992

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

Mitchell on the 1966 USGS mapMitchell on the 1988 USGS mapMitchell on the 1992 USGS map1966Mitchell 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 Mitchell.

Questions about Mitchell’s history

What year was Mitchell founded?

The Mitchell post office opened in 1873, 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 →
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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 (6), 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.