Molalla’s post office opened in 1850, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 42% of U.S. towns · #58 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it
Most of Molalla was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Its Register listings are the Horace L. Dibble House and the Fred Vonder Ahe House and Summer Kitchen. Its Register listings are the Horace L. Dibble House and the Fred Vonder Ahe House and Summer Kitchen. Below: maps from 1915 on and the census since 1920.
Founding year: the first Molalla post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1913.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Molalla’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Molalla is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #58 of 142 in Oregon. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Molalla’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 Molalla’s 2.9 sits near the middle of its state (48% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±7.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1913.
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 Molalla’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Molalla was named after the Molalla River, which in turn was named for the Molala, a Native American tribe that inhabited the area. William H. Vaughan took up a donation land claim in the area in 1844. Molalla post office was established in 1850, near the site of Liberal, and was discontinued in 1851. The post office was reestablished in 1868 and it ran until 1874, then was reestablished in 1876, which is when it was probably placed at the present location of Molalla.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Molalla. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1939Molalla 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 Molalla.
Every building
Molalla, building by building, 1915–1922
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.
1915Sheet 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.
On the National Register
2 historic places in Molalla
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The Molalla post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1913.
How does Molalla rank for history?
Molalla is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #58 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 Molalla?
Two places: the Horace L. Dibble House (listed 1974) and the Fred Vonder Ahe House and Summer Kitchen (1976).
How old are the homes in Molalla?
8% of Molalla’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1997.
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 (3), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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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