The Mulino post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Cuttingsville (1867), Beaver (1868) and Union Mills (1875), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 2,250144 years
How historic is Mulino?
B−
More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Mulino post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Mulino’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mulino is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mulino’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 Mulino’s 4.5 sits near the middle of its state (53% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±8.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Mulino’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The community was named after a flour mill erected there in 1851, when the community was known as "Howards Mill." "Mulino" is a corruption of the Spanish word molino, or mill, and was chosen for the name when postal authorities objected that "Molino" was easily confused with nearby Molalla. The Mulino post office was established in 1882.
As of 2007, the mill building, remodeled into a private residence, still stands. According to a plaque given by the National Register of Historic Places, it is the oldest industrial building to remain standing in Oregon and the oldest building to serve continuously as the local post office. The mill, listed as Howard's Gristmill, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.
The Mulino post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Mulino rank for history?
Mulino is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns. 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 Mulino?
One place: the Howard's Gristmill (listed 1981).
How old are the homes in Mulino?
14% of Mulino’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.9 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
2017
2008
2008
