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History · Mosier

Mosier dates to 1854, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Mosier was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Its Register listing is the Jefferson Mosier House. Below: maps from 1920 on and the census since 1920.

1854founded
1on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Mosier began

When was Mosier founded?

1854

Mosier dates its founding to 1854 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 259 in 19202020 census: 468172 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1884.The full story ↓

What stands out about Mosier’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 Mosier are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mosier’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Mosier came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mosier.

Read it all →

Mosier was first settled in 1854 and incorporated as a city in 1914. The building now known as the post office was at that time the bank, and the original safe is still intact on-site. Mosier School was built in 1920 and until 1963 was a 1st–12th grade 1A school. From 1964 to 2002 it functioned as part of the Chenowith School District as an elementary school that ranged from kindergarten to fifth grade. In January 2003, the Chenowith School District approved the charter application for Mosier Elementary to become a charter school known as Mosier Community School.

On June 3, 2016, a 96-car oil train derailed near Mosier. Eleven cars derailed and at least one caught on fire, only 20 feet away from the city's sewage treatment facility.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mosier, 1854 to 1975

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854
    FoundingMosier is established
  3. 1884Post officeThe Mosier post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1975On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Mosier, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Mosier, Oregon from North Washington State side of Columbia River2024Mosier, Oregon from North Washington State side of Co…Rainbow above a vintage bus overlooking rolling hills2022Rainbow above a vintage bus overlooking rolling hillsCouple on hill overlooking Columbia River Gorge 012022Couple on hill overlooking Columbia River Gorge 01Columbia River Gorge from near2022Columbia River Gorge from nearMosier Mounds 12009Mosier Mounds 1Mosier, Oregon2008Mosier, Oregon
On the map

Mosier on the map, 1975 to 1994

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

Mosier on the 1975 USGS mapMosier on the 1994 USGS map1975White Salmon sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Mosier.

Every building

Mosier, building by building, 1920–1928

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.

Mosier fire insurance map, 1920, sheet 11920Sheet 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

1 historic place in Mosier

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1990
Jefferson Mosier House
Jefferson Mosier House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne1
Jefferson Mosier HouseQueen Anne

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Mosier, census by census

0100200300400500192019401960198020002020Peak: 468

Between 192 and 468 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Mosier

Nobody well known was born in Mosier itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Vic WildAmerican-born Russian snowboarder · b. 1986
Greg WaldenAmerican politician · b. 1957
Cecil D. AndrusAmerican politician · b. 1931
D
Darren MorningstarAmerican basketball player · b. 1969
V
Virginia AdmiralAmerican painter and poet · b. 1915
Clifton N. McArthurAmerican politician · b. 1879

Questions about Mosier’s history

What year was Mosier founded?

In 1854, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Mosier’s post office opened in 1884, and the census of 1920 counted 259 people here.

What is on the National Register in Mosier?

One place: the Jefferson Mosier House (listed 1990).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.