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History · O'Brien

O'Brien’s post office opened in 1928, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper.

1928first post office
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From O'Brien’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How O'Brien began

When was O'Brien founded?

1928

The O'Brien post office opened in 1928, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 47098 years
Founding year: the first O'Brien post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about O'Brien’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start O'Brien’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how O'Brien’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewMill at O’Brien-Oregon-1953: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

O'Brien, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of O'Brien yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

O'Brien is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Josephine County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2020 census, O'Brien had a population of 470. The unemployment rate is 6.9%, slightly higher than the national average of 5.2% The community was named after John O'Brien, who was one of the first settlers to arrive at the locality. In 2012, a small group started protecting the town when the police were cut due to budget cuts.

Its first post office opened in 1928. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 504 to 470 (-7%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

O'Brien, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Mill at O’Brien-Oregon-1953Date?Mill at O’Brien-Oregon-1953
Today3 recent
Black Rock Quarry2013Black Rock QuarryO'Brien Police Car2011O'Brien Police CarMcCloud River Railroad Caboose2007McCloud River Railroad Caboose
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Mill at O’Brien-Oregon-1953
Retake this viewMill at O’Brien-Oregon-1953

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on O'Brien’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to O'Brien

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

See all →
Ty BurrellAmerican actor and comedian · b. 1967
David AndersActor · b. 1981
Bill DellingerAmerican middle-distance runner · b. 1934
Ralph WrightAmerican actor · b. 1908
Daniel R. HokansonAmerican Army National Guard general · b. 1963
Ralph StackpoleAmerican artist · b. 1885

Questions about O'Brien’s history

What year was O'Brien founded?

The O'Brien post office opened in 1928, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (4), 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.