Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 67% of U.S. towns · #30 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1911 on, and the census since 1910.
The Nyssa post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1903.
More historic than 67% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Nyssa is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #30 of 142 in Oregon. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 Nyssa’s 15.4 sits above most of its state (77% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Nyssa.
The area surrounding the city was originally inhabited by Native Americans. Northern Paiute and Cayuse frequented the area but had difficulty living in the relatively harsh climate. The original Fort Boise, established in the 1830s, is nearby to the southeast. The city was originally a shipping center for sheep and stock on the Union Pacific's main trunk line.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oregon - Malheur County - Nyssa - ED 23-30, ED 23…BuiltGreen Lantern Saloon is builtBuiltVinsonhaler Blacksmith Shop is built
In the archiveDetail on main street of Nyssa, Oregon
In the archiveSugar beet factory. Nyssa, Oregon
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereJohn Bates is born here3 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1939Detail on main street of Nyssa, Oregon
1939Main street of Nyssa, Oregon. Saturday afternoon
1939Main street of Nyssa, Oregon. Saturday afternoon
1939Main street of Nyssa, Oregon, on Saturday afternoon
1939Oregon farmers, old settlers, at farmer's public sale…
1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Detail on main s…
1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Main street of N…Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Nyssa. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Nyssa.
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.
1911Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Nyssa’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 449 and 3,267 people in every census since 1910.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Nyssa’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
The Nyssa post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1903.
Nyssa is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #30 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.
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Green Lantern Saloon (listed 1996, the first). 5 historic buildings in all.
20% of Nyssa’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.3 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1964.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (9), Wikidata (2), 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), 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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